Solace
by myprofoundfantasy
Summary: Having experienced a tragedy, Scorpius Malfoy remains depressed and broken. It isn't until he has to tutor Albus Potter, who coincidentally happens to be his crush, that he finds solace in the unlikeliest of people.
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm starting a new Albus/Scorpius story because I've been missing them, and with my other one finishing up soon (Only We See the Similarities), I thought another one was in order. I hope you all like it. I'm almost done with Chapter 2 so hopefully I will update that soon.**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is probably having a fabulous margarita in the Bahamas somewhere with the money from Harry Potter. I, however, am not creative enough to come up with such a worldwide phenomenon, so I only copy. Thus, she has the rights and alas, I do not.**

* * *

Solace

Chapter 1

_The air was thick and foggy. It was the middle of the night in Succor Village and every house was dark with sleeping patrons inside. But not everyone was asleep._

_Scorpius, sensing his father's absence - and having heard a door shut - slipped his feet into his house shoes and slowly crept downstairs, careful not to get caught or wake anyone. He hadn't been able to sleep, much like many nights. He was a bit of an insomniac. As he stepped downstairs, Scorpius sighted from the window a dark figure walking across the street. He instantly recognized the figure as his father. Curiosity got the best of him. He sidled up to the window and peered out, wondering if his father were on some late, secretive business or if he were just going for a walk. His assumptions proved to be the first._

_Soon, another man in black apparated near his father. Scorpius knew he should go to bed, that his father would be furious with him if he caught his son spying, but Scorpius couldn't draw his eyes away. Something about this picture was off, something was strange. Of course, everything his father did relating to work seemed strange to Scorpius, most of all clandestine._

_For ten minutes, Scorpius watched his father and this mysterious man exchange words and an odd-looking package. But then it looked as though the two men were arguing. Scorpius couldn't make out any faces but the body language and the hands reaching for wands indicated so. He wondered if he should do something, but didn't know what. Suddenly a flash of red light sent his father flying through the air. Without thinking, Scorpius yanked open the front door and ran outside, yelling._

_His father shot a curse but missed, distracted by a sudden scream. As he turned and spotted his terrified son meters away, the hooded man shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" Scorpius' father crumpled to the ground, lifeless. "No!" Scorpius screamed. He reached for his wand, pointed it at the murderer, and yelled, "Stupefy!" The man blocked it, yelled a hex at Scorpius which sent him convulsing on the ground, and disapparated with the mysterious package._

Scorpius woke up in a sweat, his chest heavy. He wiped tears - or sweat, he couldn't tell - away from his eyes and looked around him. He was in the Slytherin dorms and everyone seemed fast asleep. Panting, he glanced at the clock. It read 3:15. Groaning, Scorpius wiped his face and lied back down, staring at the ceiling.

This dream was a recurring one. But it was also a memory. He even played the memory over and over in his head when awake. Scorpius' father died two years ago. He was in his fifth year now.

Scorpius knew that he should alert his mum about the dreams, especially since it was the second one this week, but he didn't want to worry her more. Since the incident, he had ostracized himself from his friends and peers. Some of his friends still remained concerned, but after two years of their friend grieving and no indication of going back to normal, they began to feel less and less sympathetic. Scorpius was frustrated with no longer being his cheerful, albeit a little snide self and having fun with his friends, but they just didn't get it. His father meant the world to him, and ever since he died, Scorpius' world rapidly crashed down around him. His mother was still a wreck and developed a bit of a drinking problem and his grandparents divorced and still were in limbo about who was entitled to what. With the murder of his father and the investigation of finding the killer in the Daily Prophet almost every week, Scorpius could never be normal again; not that he was very normal to begin with. Being a Malfoy with Black heritage - which meant a family of former Death Eaters - definitely had its drawbacks. He and his family weren't well-liked throughout the wizarding community after the war. To compensate, Scorpius had developed a tough façade to gain respect from his peers. But since his father's death, Scorpius grew vulnerable and fragile; he lost respect and power. It didn't bother him too much for he was never much of a people person anyway; like his family, he was a private person. Scorpius made it a point to turn off his emotions and shut out the world around him. He would rather hurt internally than let anyone else know he was hurting. Unfortunately, that meant the grieving and moving on process wasn't going so well.

So there Scorpius lied, eyes open, thinking, until it was 6:30. Breakfast time. At the sound of the alarm, he grudgingly got up and dressed in his velvet green robes. Glancing in the mirror, he let his platinum blond hair fall in his sunken silver eyes. He had lost a bit of weight, having a perpetual loss of appetite. He noticed that there were dark circles forming under his eyes. He looked awful and unbelievably exhausted. Sighing, Scorpius headed down to the Great Hall to have a glass of milk and eat a slice of toast; his usual.

Scorpius sat at the end of the Slytherin table next to his former best friends, Eric Warrington and Isaac Zabini. They were laughing about something, but he wasn't paying attention; his eyes were far off as usual and they knew better than to ask any questions. At this point, they had pretty much given up on him. The depressed, self-pitying act was getting old.

As Scorpius chewed a small piece of buttered toast, his eyes wandered and focused on a tall brunette whose short jet-black hair stuck up. He was broad-shouldered, built like an athlete. Albus Potter. Scorpius had once reveled in taunting the Gryffindor and making him mad. Scorpius smiled to himself at the memories. He had once gotten so much pleasure out of it, for more than the reason that they were destined to be enemies. Blushing a bit, he tore his eyes away from Potter and finished his milk. He then got out his Potions book and began to read, willing for breakfast to finish and classes to start. Classes and homework were a welcome distraction. There was no need for socialization and no one pointed or stared at him every damn second. One good thing in his life was that he was earning top marks in almost every class, which pleased his mum and grandparents.

(

Louis Weasley and Albus sat next to each other in Potions, per usual. Professor Pucey had assigned each person to successfully brew an Unctious Unction potion by the end of class. Albus groaned as he began to read the instructions in his Potions book. "Look at all these ingredients! Forget my dreams of becoming an Auror; I hate Potions."

"I just don't want to fail my O.W.L.S. in this class. Putrid Pucey doesn't even tell us how to do this stuff; he just expects us to know," Louis dramatically said, pushing a strand of his white-blond hair behind his ear.

Albus grunted in agreement as he started dicing plants. "I barely have an Agreeable in this class. Mum said I should get a tutor."

Louis stopped stirring and scoffed, "No way, that's so lame!" He was being too careless with his cauldron and the next minute bubbles started forming, overflowing onto the table. Albus quickly grabbed his things out of the way as Professor Pucey swiftly walked to their table. He scolded Louis, "Clean this mess at once, Weasley, and focus more on your assignment than chatting with Potter." Then he stalked away with Weasley scowling at his back.

Louis used a drying spell and lightly punched Albus for laughing. "Maybe you need a tutor too," Al joked.

Louis gave his cousin a fake smile and tended to his cauldron. After he got it under control, he remarked, "Ask Pucey if Rose could tutor you. I bet she'd be willing since she practically does our homework for us."

Albus grinned. "Good idea," he mused. Then he concentrated on getting the potion right, determined not to fail.

After class, Albus stayed behind to ask Professor Pucey about getting help in Potions.

"Yes, Potter?" Pucey peered at Albus from behind his desk. "You did a mediocre job with the Unctious Unction potion. I hope you're not asking for extra credit."

"No, sir," Albus said. "But that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. See, in order to become an Auror, I have to be good at Potions, so I was wondering if I could get a tutor."

"Ah, like father, like son," Pucey snidely remarked. Albus did his best not to glare, and instead, gave a tight nod. "Well, I'm not going to waste my time trying to tutor you when you clearly put no effort in class."

Albus' eyes widened in horror at the thought of spending more time with Pucey than deemed necessary. "Sir, I was wondering if Rose Weasley could tutor me."

Pucey got a thoughtful look on his face, then slowly stated, "Rose Weasley isn't the top of my class. Surely you would want the best, am I right?"

Albus frowned, but decided it best to agree with his Potions Master. "Er, sure," he simply said.

"Good, then I will arrange for Scorpius Malfoy to help you with Potions."

"_Malfoy?_" Al incredulously asked. "No, anyone but him!"

"He's the best in my class." Then Pucey's face softened a bit, something which rarely happened. "As a friend of Scorpius' father, I understand how hard this has been for him. He could use a friend." His concerned expression disappeared as quickly as it had come. "And you need not fail this course," he quipped.

"But sir -" Albus protested.

Pucey waved his hand in the air, dismissing Albus. "You may go now." Sighing, Albus obeyed, cursing out his Professor under his breath.

(

Later that night, Scorpius was doing his Charms homework in the Commons when Professor Pucey, Head of Slytherin, walked in.

"Scorpius Malfoy, a moment of your time," Pucey beckoned.

Scorpius glanced up at his Professor and frowned, wondering if he were in trouble. He walked over to Pucey and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." Pucey faced Scorpius and gave a small smile as he said, "A student has requested that you tutor him in Potions. And seeing as you seem to have so much free time from often being in the library, I'm sure this won't be a burden for you." The look on Pucey's face meant that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Scorpius frowned and sighed. The idea of tutoring someone didn't appeal to him. He'd rather be left alone, but he knew better than to disobey Pucey. "Er, who is it? A first-year?" He quietly asked.

"Albus Potter," Pucey stated, a deadpanned expression upon his face.

Scorpius' eyes widened, his chest tightening, shocked at the thought of helping Albus Potter, perfect "Boy Wonder" and former nemesis, with something. He didn't know whether to be glad or terrified. Slowly, Scorpius found himself saying, "What if I don't want to do it?"

Pucey raised his eyebrows and coolly stated, "Quite frankly, you don't really have a choice." He paused, then kindly added, "Anyway, I think this will be good for you."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and glared at the floor. He didn't like being forced into anything nor did he like people trying to reach out to him out of pity. But he remained silent.

"Talk to Potter tomorrow and arrange a meeting. Good night." And with that, Pucey walked out of the Commons, leaving Scorpius irritated and dumbfounded.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it. :) Tell me what you think. Reviews would be great!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter; it's a fun one!**

**By the way, thanks to Soapiefan for reviewing. It was greatly appreciated and now you get a HUGE chocolate chip cookie. Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The lovely J.K. Rowling does, and thank goodness for that. **

* * *

Chapter 2

"Malfoy? You have to be tutored by _Malfoy_?" Louis incredulously asked Albus, pacing up and down as if this were a huge scandal. He was into theatrics. They were in the Gryffindor common room along with Rose, Lily, and Beth Finnigan.

"Wow, Pucey must really be out to get you," Beth mused, stroking Al's arm.

"I know," Albus groaned. "This is so awful. I don't want help from some prat who has gone off the deep end."

Lily bit her lip and softly inquired, "What's so bad about Malfoy? I've never even seen him talk to you lot."

"Lil, you don't understand. You didn't know him before his father's death. He used to be a prick." Albus remarked.

Rose, who rarely said much, commented, "If I remember correctly, you enjoyed poking fun at him and his friends. Does that not make you a prick?"

Albus frowned at his cousin; he hated it when she was right, and she usually always was. He looked away from her and murmured, "Well that doesn't mean I want to spend time with him and have him mock my stupidity."

"Oh, babe," Beth kissed Albus' cheek, "you aren't stupid."

"In Potions, I am," Albus said as they all walked out together and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. On the way, Rose suggested, "You could have offered my help."

"I tried," Albus responded. As they sat down and food appeared, Louis was still going on about how much of a prick Malfoy was. Then he spotted the Slytherin heading towards them. "And speaking of the bastard," Louis snidely observed.

Scorpius hesitantly approached the Gryffindor table. The Potters and Weasleys were intimidating as they dominated the Gryffindor house; and it seemed that they were all glaring at him, Louis in particular. "Er, Albus, I guess we should talk about when to meet," he said, trying to look the brunette in the eyes, which wasn't hard because Albus' bright emerald eyes were mesmerizing. Then he noticed Albus and Beth holding hands and something welled up inside of his chest; he tried to shake the feeling off.

Before Albus could say anything, a seventh-year Gryffindor stood up and roughly pushed Scorpius. His frail body almost tumbled to the ground but he caught his balance in time. "You lost, Death Eater?" the seventh-year quipped.

Frazzled, Scorpius wanted to be anywhere but here. He murmured a "never mind" and briskly walked out of the Great Hall, hating himself for not doing anything to the stupid git for pushing him around. Scorpius never used to be that cowardly.

"_He _was a prick?" Lily asked, unconvinced.

Albus sighed and followed the Slytherin. "Malfoy! Malfoy, wait!" He caught up to Scorpius right outside the entryway. Scorpius turned and hardened his expression. "Er, I'll meet you at the library tomorrow at 1, okay?" Albus said.

Scorpius nodded and replied, "Bring your cauldrons and some potions ingredients." Then he turned back around and headed for the Dungeons.

(

Albus waited until the last minute to head to the library. It wasn't just that he disliked Scorpius, he also disliked Potions. Already, he assumed that this afternoon would not be a fun one.

As Albus walked inside, he spotted Scorpius walking toward the back. "Hey, Malfoy," Albus greeted the Slytherin as he approached the table and sat across from him.

Scorpius gave a nod and asked, "Where do you need the most help?"

"Wow, right to business, eh? No cordial 'how are you's' first?" Albus joked, opening his Potions book. Scorpius didn't even blink. Sighing, Albus remarked, "Wow, you really have changed."

"Look, I'll just help you with whatever you need and then we can both be on our merry way, okay? No need for small talk," Scorpius snapped.

Albus' forehead creased into a frown as he wondered why he pissed off Malfoy so much. Shrugging, he mumbled, "Fine by me." Getting out some parchment, he said, "I can't seem to get the execution right. In theory, I do fine. But somehow I manage to screw it up in practice."

"Don't worry," Scorpius almost monotonously said, "most people have that trouble. We'll do a couple of easy potions first and then work up to the harder ones. It's all about attention to detail and reading between the lines."

The two fifth-years worked for about an hour on two potions and Al only had to redo one of them once. The first potion he executed perfectly. Albus was slowly beginning to realize that perfecting potions was all a matter of focus; unfortunately, in class, Albus lacked just that. As he closed his book, he stared at Scorpius for a few moments. Scorpius caught Albus' eye and quickly glanced away, trying not to blush. "What?" Scorpius asked, more harshly than he intended for it sound.

"Er, nothing," Albus immediately said. Then he slowly inhaled and finally asked the question he'd been dying to know, "What happened to you? You're really different now. I mean, it couldn't just be because of the, er, you know." He winced, not meaning for it come out so insensitively.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and scowled at Albus. He quickly gathered his books and stood up. "Mind your own damn business, _Potter_, and stop pretending that you care even an ounce for me."

Albus' eyes widened and he instantly felt bad for saying anything. "I-I'm sorry," he softly said, not sure if he were sorry or not.

Scorpius scoffed and quipped, "Meet me here at the end of the week. Same time." Then he haughtily stalked off, feeling pissed off. Oddly enough, he was more pissed with himself than with Potter. After all, it wasn't Albus' fault that he questioned why Scorpius was more distant and reserved than he used to be. Scorpius hated feeling this way but he couldn't – wouldn't –change. _And I'm not about to let my guard down and spill all my secrets like a __nancy__, least of all to Potter_, Scorpius bitterly thought to himself as he trudged to his room.

(

Albus dropped his books on the floor and flopped down on his bed, exhausted from the tutoring session. He quickly regretted his decision to want to be tutored at all. For whatever reason, Malfoy just got under his skin; he always had. He felt like a prat for thinking this, but it was so hard to feel sorry for Malfoy. Albus knew he would never want to be placed in Malfoy's shoes, but if he had, he, at least, would be nicer. The Slytherin remained the exact same as before. It was infuriating and yet, Albus realized, strangely intriguing. As much as Albus hated to admit it – and he never would – he wanted to dig through those many layers and fronts and discover the real Malfoy. Albus sat up and frowned at this thought. He quickly reassured himself, _But I don't want to be his friend. And I don't care that much for him. _Groaning, he tried to push out all thoughts of Malfoy's compelling him.

Luckily, Louis walked in and sat next to Al, distracting Al's stream of consciousness. "So was it pure hell?" Louis asked, amused that his best friend had to spend an afternoon with their nemesis.

Albus turned toward his cousin and shrugged. "It wasn't completely unbearable. I did manage to perfect a few potions. But I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

Louis gave Albus a sympathetic smile and then said, "Well, your girl toy is looking for you."

Albus frowned and scolded Louis, "Don't call Beth that. She is not my girl toy."

Louis knowingly smirked and remarked, "If you say so. But you keep stringing that poor girl around and leading her on. When are you going to seal the deal?"

"What?" Albus asked, alarmed at Louis' question.

Louis rolled his eyes and quickly explained, "I meant ask her to be your girlfriend, not have sex with her, _bête_."

Albus ignored Louis' french and let out a small sigh of relief. He tightly said, "It's complicated."

"Benefriends usually are," retorted Louis, still amused.

Albus shook his head and started to protest but stopped because Louis was right. He wasn't exactly sure what he and Beth were, but benefriends seemed like a pretty good assessment. He stood up and said, "I'd better go see what she wants."

Louis' grin grew wider from the fact that he was right. "Have fun!" He sang-song, waggling his fingers.

(

It was Saturday around 1:30 and Albus was unfocused and bored. Scorpius grew more agitated the more Albus fidgeted. "Potter, we've been stuck on the same page for 15 minutes. Your attention, please." Scorpius chided, his patience wearing thin.

Albus groaned and leaned back in his seat. "But it's such a nice day out! I don't want to be stuck inside practicing Potions. Please can't we go out on the lawn?"

"Bloody hell, you're like a little child!" Scorpius exasperatedly exclaimed. "Let's just get this over with soon and we'll be done for the day."

A different idea popped into Albus' head. He leaned forward, a sly grin on his face. "Let's take a break. We could ride around on our brooms for a few minutes, get some fresh air."

"No, Potter." Scorpius snapped.

"Oh, lighten up! You could use the fresh air," Albus said, fidgeting even more in his seat as he thought of being outside.

"I don't want to ride today," Scorpius firmly stated.

Albus narrowed his eyes then closed his Potions book. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, Malfoy. It'll do you some good."

"Potter, I have half a mind to hex you in public," Scorpius hissed, annoyed that Albus wasn't shutting up and working. He just wanted to be left alone. But Albus didn't waver. He just smirked and haughtily asked, "Are you afraid you can't beat me in a race?"

At this, Scorpius let out a snide laugh. "Potter, when I played Seeker, I always outflew you."

"But you're out of practice. And I'm willing to bet that I am now faster than you."

Scorpius hated turning down challenges; it was in his nature to accept all challenges and win. And this was one he couldn't refuse. It would be so satisfying to see Potter lose to him. Then, Scorpius would be in charge, would be feared. _Well, maybe not _feared_; not yet_, he thought to himself. A small smile slowly crept upon his lips as he declared, "Fine. And if I win, you have to come back inside and study for two more hours without a single complaint."

Albus winced at the thought but he wasn't about to back down. "And if I win, which I will, you have to – " Albus paused and glanced around the library, trying to think of a perfect punishment. When he thought of something, he continued, "You have to snog Anna Boyles for a good 30 seconds."

Scorpius made a face and spotted the second-year Ravenclaw a few tables away from them. Anna Boyles had wild, frizzy black hair, smelled of mothballs, and had badly chapped lips. She was also, rumor had it, madly in love with Scorpius.

He turned back to Albus and shook the Gryffindor's hand. "Cruel, very cruel. Good thing I won't lose."

Albus simply smiled and said, "We'll see about that." He gathered his books and the two fifth-years headed out the library, making their way for the Quidditch Pitch.

Once they each got their brooms, Albus and Scorpius mounted their brooms in the center of the Pitch. Albus told Scorpius, "We'll fly from here, go around the lake, then around Hagrid's cabin, and back to this spot. No shortcuts."

"Fine with me," Scorpius said, focusing on beating Albus. Albus motioned for some guy who was a few feet away from them to tell them when to go and be the judge of who won. When the guy said, "1…2…3…GO," both Albus and Scorpius took off.

Albus purposefully started out slower than Scorpius to save energy. It was a good few miles to fly a circle around Hogwarts' grounds. As Scorpius sailed in the air, he grinned, feeling more alive than he had in a year. He wasn't playing Quidditch this year; his father was the driving force behind his playing and after his father's death, Scorpius felt too depressed to play anymore. But he soon found that he missed flying. The problem was the longer Scorpius flew, the weaker he became. He was too out of shape for this, having lost so much weight and muscle from not eating nor working out. So it was no surprise when Albus came from behind as both guys neared the end of the lake, and Al kept a steady lead. Scorpius leaned forward and focused on Albus, trying to reach him, but Albus was too fast. Scorpius cursed himself for not being able to pass him. As they reached the Forbidden Forest, he now focused more on not getting too far behind.

Albus flew over the Quidditch Pitch and headed toward the ground, stopping just before he reached it. He looked behind him and saw Scorpius enter the Pitch. Albus smiled in triumph from beating the once Slytherin seeker.

Scorpius stopped his broom when he reached a happy Albus. He frowned in response. "Nice job, Potter. I'm surprised; you didn't used to be this fast."

"I've been practicing," Al said as he sat down on the grass. Scorpius awkwardly sat across from him. "I've had to practice to beat you. You're really fast, for what it's worth," Al shyly stated. It was probably the first compliment he had ever given Scorpius.

Scorpius was surprised by the compliment but he didn't let it show on his face. "Uh, thanks, I guess," he replied, sprawling his exhausted legs out on the grass. "Guess I need to start practicing some more."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. With you off the team, Gryffindor has a real shot at winning the Quidditch cup," Albus exclaimed. He was about to ask why Scorpius wasn't playing anymore but decided against it after what had happened their first Potions lesson.

Scorpius glanced down at the ground, muttering, "I didn't mean to quit this year. It just sort of happened." He really missed playing Quidditch but the game reminded him too much of his dad. And his dad's permanent absence was a thought he never wanted to think about.

"Maybe it's not too late to tryout. Quidditch has barely begun," Albus kindly suggested.

Scorpius looked at Albus like he was crazy. He let out a small laugh and incredulously asked, "_You_ are encouraging _me_ to tryout? House traitor!"

Albus laughed aloud. He smugly smiled and shrugged as he remarked, "Right now, I like my odds. Oh, which reminds me, you have to snog someone!"

Scorpius grimaced, hoping that Albus had forgotten. Not only was Anna Boyles gross, but he was_ gay_. Kissing girls was not an appealing thought. Of course, Scorpius wasn't about to tell Albus that. "What if she's not at the library anymore?" He hopefully asked.

Albus stood up and said, still grinning, "One way to find out." He and Scorpius headed back to the library after putting up their brooms. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, Anna was still in the same spot. "She's still here," Albus declared.

Scorpius scowled at Albus and stated, "You suck." Then he reluctantly walked over to where Anna was sitting. Anna looked up as soon as he approached her and she furiously blushed. "Er, hi, Anna."

"Wow, hi, Scor-Scorpius! How are you? Wow!" Anna exclaimed in one big rush. Scorpius sighed at how cruel this was; he was honestly surprised that "Golden Boy Potter" had thought of this punishment. "Okay, don't read too much into this," Scorpius warned her, motioning for her to stand up. She obeyed, watching him expectantly. He glanced back at Albus' giddy face, then turned back to Anna. Taking in a deep breath, he leaned forward and kissed her chapped, rough lips. She was taken aback at first then kissed back, trying to jam her tongue down his throat in excitement. Scorpius tried not to gag and counted to thirty in his head. After what seemed an eternity, he immediately pulled back, wiping Anna's saliva from his mouth.

"Oh, wow!" Anna breathed.

Scorpius sighed and firmly explained, "This doesn't mean I like you, Anna, because I don't. Let's just keep this our little secret, okay?" Anna furrowed her eyebrows, dazed and confused. Then Scorpius briskly walked away toward Albus.

Albus, meanwhile, was laughing at the look of Scorpius' face. As the Slytherin approached him, he, through laughter, asked, "So was it everything you hoped and dreamed for? Should I make the wedding reservations?"

Scorpius glared at Albus and said, "Shove it. That is one feisty twelve-year old." He reached in his mouth and pulled out little brown bits. "Blech, I have her food residue in my mouth." Albus laughed even harder which caused many shushes from people around them. "I'm going to get you back so badly, Potter," Scorpius whispered.

Albus just smiled and said, "I'm surprised you went through with it. You're cooler than I thought."

Scorpius was flattered but he stifled a smile. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stated, "This doesn't change anything. I still hate you, Potter."

Albus shrugged, not expecting anything more from Scorpius. Anyway, he knew that Scorpius wasn't always so depressed and cold. Today, he was actually fun. But the thought of Malfoy's being _fun _seemed strange to Albus. He still wasn't sure how he felt about the guy. "I'll see you around, Malfoy. I had a nice time today though; it beat Potions any day." Then he left the library.

Scorpius stared after Albus. _Why did Potter have to be so _nice_ all the time? _Scorpius thought to himself as he headed for the Slytherin common room. Truth be told, he had a really great time today (not counting snogging Anna); the best afternoon he had had in a long time. Albus Potter wasn't a total prick; he was actually kind of cool. Scorpius frowned at that thought. He would not befriend Potter. He would never stoop that low, no matter how lonely he was. However, Scorpius hadn't been fantasizing about Anna when he was kissing her.

* * *

**There it is! I hope you liked it. Please please review and I'll give you a HUGE chocolate chip cookie as well. They're delightful! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry that this wasn't updated sooner! I just started college and it's been busy busy! Also, this chapter was fairly difficult to write because I wanted to get the right emotions. But I'm finally pleased with this chapter. :)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I made a special batch of extra-chocolately chip cookies for all of you!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The lovely J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Scorpius headed up to the towers over a week after his and Albus's race, letter in hand. He had received a letter from his mum, the first one since school started; it was barely November. He found a secluded spot in the towers next to the Owlery and opened the letter.

It read:

_My Darling Scorpius,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written; things have been busy around here at home. Lucius and Narcissa have finally settled on which possessions are rightfully their own. I say that now but inevitably one of them will become discontent soon enough and go back to court. At least those two keep me entertained. Surprisingly their divorce has become a welcomed distraction, for all of us._

_Anyway, the reason I am writing to you is because the Aurors have found Draco's killer. Ezekiel Byrnes, one of your father's business partners, is responsible. Words cannot express how deeply disturbed and upset I am. We've had him over for dinner a couple of times when you were younger, do you remember? He's been put into Azkaban for life so we can sleep safely now. But reasons are still unknown for his motive._

_I figured you would want to know before you read this news in the Daily Prophet. I miss you Scorpius, so much. It's lonely in this huge house. I hope you are well. Please write how your year is going so far._

_I love you,_

_Your mother._

Scorpius, hands shaking, was sobbing by the end of this letter. He was furious and upset that Mr. Byrnes was the killer. He and Scorpius used to talk about Quidditch together. How could that murderer, his father's friend, have betrayed his father? And killed his father right in front of him, no less? Scorpius threw the letter on the ground, brought his knees to his chin, and buried himself between his legs, letting his tears fall.

Meanwhile, Albus had gone up to the Owlery to mail a letter to his uncle Charlie. As he was feeding Labyrinth, his Scops owl, he faintly heard someone's crying in the near distance. Curious and slightly concerned, Albus let Labyrinth, letter tied to his leg, outside. Then he followed the crying, surprised to find Scorpius huddled on the floor in the tears. Scorpius hadn't yet felt Albus's presence and Albus grew uncomfortable just standing there, watching the Slytherin cry. Awkwardly, Albus asked, "Er, are you okay?" Albus frowned. _That was a stupid thing to ask_. Obviously he wasn't okay but Albus felt he needed to say something.

Startled, Scorpius quickly glanced up at the sound of a voice. He grimaced, embarrassed, when he saw that the voice belonged to Albus. "Go away, Potter," he muttered bitterly, quickly wiping away his tears.

Albus turned away, suddenly feeling strange that he had caught Scorpius in tears. He almost obeyed the Malfoy's orders but didn't feel right leaving. Although he and Scorpius weren't exactly friends, he felt that Scorpius needed one right now. So Albus turned back around and sat down next to his former nemesis, awkwardly placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" He softly asked.

Scorpius was taken aback by Albus's kind and surprising gesture. "What are you doing?" He asked, more harshly than he had intended.

Albus immediately let his hand fall to his lap. "Sorry, I'll go," he quickly said, standing up.

Scorpius sighed. In all honesty, it would be nice to have some company, even if that company were Albus Potter. "Wait, sit down. I don't mind."

Albus obeyed, not quite sure why he did. He was supposed to meet Beth now. _Actually,_ Albus thought, _this is a great excuse not to meet with her. _He didn't want to be mean because Beth was a good friend but she also had a tendency to be clingy.

"I, er, heard about Ezekiel Byrnes. I'm sorry," Albus quietly said, staring at the rocky wall in front of him.

Scorpius grimaced at the mention of that name, a tear falling from his eye. "He was my father's friend. I don't understand how he…" His voice broke off, unable to continue.

Albus frowned and placed his hand back on Scorpius's shoulder. He felt bad for the guy. He couldn't imagine – and didn't want to imagine – his own father being murdered. Albus didn't know how to empathize with Scorpius so he kept quiet, comfortingly rubbing his hand up and down Scorpius's arm.

Scorpius didn't shove off Albus's hand this time. In fact, he liked the touch; it was soothing. He leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes, trying to stop crying. He hated crying, especially in front of other people; it showed weakness and it was embarrassing. The two fell in a surprisingly comfortable silence for awhile until Scorpius turned to Albus and asked, "Were you sending a letter to your parents?"

Albus shook his head, glancing at the Slytherin, and replied, "No, to my uncle Charlie. I need his advice for my dragon assignment." Albus noticed that his hand was still placed on Scorpius's bicep so he dropped it, accidentally brushing his hand with Scorpius's own. Blushing, he immediately pulled his hand away and looked away from Scorpius, an uneasy feeling settling deep in his stomach. "Sorry," he muttered.

Scorpius breathed, quickly missing that touch. He brought his eyes to Albus's and softly said, "Thanks."

Albus glanced up at the Slytherin when Scorpius thanked him. He smiled softly and nodded, his breathing unsteady.

To fill an approaching awkward silence, and to feel less uncomfortable, Albus lightly asked, "Did you watch the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin?"

Scorpius tilted his head to the side at Albus's random question. "No, I never go anymore," He replied, frowning.

"Why?" Albus asked before he thought about what he was asking. He was trying to be careful not to pry in Scorpius's personal life. And when Scorpius didn't respond right away, he quickly said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to – "

"No, it's fine," Scorpius cut him off. He needed someone to vent to anyway. "I guess I haven't done much of anything since Dad died." His voice broke on the last part. _I sound like I'm nine,_ he silently cursed himself, hating that he still had trouble saying those words.

Albus was honestly surprised at how much Scorpius was opening up to him. He didn't even think that Scorpius liked him. Not wanting to make the Slytherin any sadder than he already was, Albus tried for a lighter mood. "Why are you being so open with me?"

Scorpius both admired and was annoyed with Albus's bluntness. Countering back, Scorpius retorted, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Scorpius's retort made Albus smile slightly. He shrugged, then said, "You looked like you needed a friend – I mean, someone to talk to." Al frowned when he had made the mistake of saying "friend," preparing himself for Scorpius to get angry. But he didn't.

The word, "friend," seemed weird on Albus's tongue but in all honesty, though he would never admit it to anyone, Scorpius really wanted a friend – even if it were Potter. His own friends were pretty much ignoring him, though they had every reason to. He wasn't such a great friend anymore, himself. "Well, you're better than nothing, I guess," he said contemptuously.

Albus grinned, glad to know that the old Scorpius was still in there somewhere. "It's not like I have anything better to do," he shot back.

"Well-played," Scorpius remarked, giving a slight nod. "Although, if talking to me is the highlight of your day, then you have a more pathetic life than I."

The highlight of his day could have been snogging Beth, but that would have been even more pathetic. The thought of snogging her seemed less and less attractive each day. He only did it now to be nice. Albus didn't know how to respond without seeming insensitive so he just said, "Fair enough."

Scorpius grinned to himself, happy to have rendered Albus speechless. He had always been good with words, especially insults. As Albus shifted on the floor a bit, Scorpius suddenly noticed how close he was to the Gryffindor. Staring at the Potter, he realized that he could bring his face a few inches closer and kiss Albus. Scorpius silently winced at that thought. _Merlin, stop thinking about snogging Potter._

Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius's now smug face, but at least their friendly banter had cheered the Slytherin up. He caught Scorpius staring at him longer than normal and Albus quickly turned away, a faint blush creeping upon his cheeks. "What are you staring at?" He asked.

Scorpius immediately tore his eyes away from Albus when he had been caught staring. Pushing down the feeling of embarrassment, Scorpius quickly lied, "Um, you have something on your face." Then he reached his hand out and rubbed an imaginary spot off of Albus's cheek with his forefinger. At the touch of Scorpius's finger, Albus momentarily froze, his breath shaky, the heat warming his cheeks even more. He had always been one to blush easily and this touch, for whatever reason, made his cheeks flare up even more.  
"There, got it." Scorpius lightly brushed his finger across Albus's cheek to his chin, then dropped his arm.

Albus instinctively reached up and touched the same cheek with his palm. "Um, thanks," he softly said, bringing his eyes up to meet Scorpius's steely blue gaze. Just then, he realized how attractive Scorpius was. Albeit a little thin and pale, the Slytherin had prominent cheekbones and light blonde hair that fell in his captivating eyes.

The two boys stared at each other for maybe a moment too long, both secretly challenging the other to break the gaze. The sexual tension loomed in the air. Albus, confused and shaky, broke his gaze first, softly clearing his throat. Scorpius frowned a bit, but quickly covered up his disappointment.

"Er, I should probably go," Albus murmured.

Scorpius absently nodded, still in a slight daze from that strange moment the two had shared. "Yeah, okay."

Standing up, Albus glanced down at his feet instead of at Scorpius and awkwardly, but sincerely said, "I hope everything gets better for you."

Scorpius stood up as well, his letter crumpled in his fist, as he told Albus, "As long as you don't use my crying as blackmail, everything will be fine for you."

Albus gave a small laugh and nodded. "Deal." Then, with one last curious look at Scorpius, he left the Owlery. Scorpius leaned against the wall, pocketed his letter, and sighed, then left as well.

(

Albus walked back to the Gryffindor dorms with a goofy smile and a perplexed look upon his face. He was happy and confused at the same time. _I don't _like _Scorpius in that way, do I? He is attractive, though. _Albus's eyebrows knitted together as he was lost in thought. He had never before pursued any thoughts about males, but those thoughts had always been there in his mind. Albus didn't want to label himself as anything but he _was_ gay; he kept that part of him a secret, though, because he didn't want to be known as "that gay kid" or "Harry Potter's gay son." Albus didn't want to be looked at differently, yet it was nearly impossible to scuff out any attractive feelings toward guys.

_Is Scorpius gay? _That thought crept into his head and couldn't be shaken out. As Albus walked into the Commons, he couldn't help but wonder. There were rumors but Albus never paid the rumors any attention. Actually, aside from the occasional bantering, Albus had never cared much about the Slytherin, let alone think of him in this way…until now.

"Albus? Albus, hello!"

Albus broke from his thoughts and focused his eyes on Louis, who was standing in front of him. He wiped the grin from his face and asked, "What?"

"I _said,_" Louis started with a huffy tone (he did not like to be ignored), "you look like you had a brilliant day."

Albus paid no mind to Louis' irritated tone. "Brilliant, but strange," he said with a secret smile.

Louis, who felt as if he were missing an inside joke, frowned. He also did not like to feel left out. "Did something happen with Beth?" He curiously asked.

Albus shook his head no as he grabbed his windbreaker. "I'm going to fly around for a bit. I'll see you later."

"Albus!" Louis called out, frustrated with his cousin as Albus left the room.

(

For the following three days, Albus and Scorpius avoided each other. The event in the Owlery had been strange, far too strange for the two fifth-years to rationally comprehend. But today they had another tutoring session. Scorpius subconsciously spent more time in the bathroom than usual. He tamed his hair, put on cologne, and performed a quick spell to rid of his under-eye circles. Similarly, Albus gelled his hair and put on cologne.

Scorpius arrived at the library earlier than Albus, as usual. He sat at their usual table and began to set things up for the Potions lesson. Most of their sessions before had been just theories of how to make the potions, but today Scorpius felt confident that Albus could brew a more intermediate potion without blowing something up.

Seven minutes later, Albus arrived, Potions book and cauldron in hand. He sat down across from Scorpius and nodded. Seeing the Slytherin again made him feel uneasy. Albus still wasn't sure what to make of the guy nor was he sure what he thought of Scorpius.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he caught a whiff of Albus's cologne. The smell was nice; in fact, Albus looked really attractive today. He, himself, started to feel slightly self-conscious. "Er, today," he began, forcing himself to look into the Gryffindor's emerald eyes, "you're going to concoct the Fire Protection potion. We've already studied how to do it so this should be fairly easy for you."

Albus nodded again and opened his book to the correct page. For the next half hour, he proceeded to put in the right ingredients and brew without anything going wrong. The two were silent the whole time. Albus was almost going mad from the uncomfortable silence, but he didn't know what to say.

Finally, he finished. Scorpius stirred the potion for a minute then looked up. "This is nearly perfect. Well done, Potter."

"Nearly perfect? I'd say that's damn perfect," Albus smugly stated, pleased with himself for succeeding. He was finally getting a hang of Potions.

Scorpius gave Albus a pointed look as he remarked, "You mashed the beans a little too much, causing the beans to become dry. But it didn't affect the potion much."

Albus rolled his eyes and joked, "I still get an O, right?"

Scorpius grinned slightly and nodded. "Sure, I'd give it to you."

"Yes!" Mocking overjoy, Albus fist-pumped in the air, grinning. He received a few shushes for that. "Sorry," he mumbled to the easily-irritated students.

Instinctively rolling his eyes at how ridiculous Albus looked, Scorpius stated, "You're getting a lot better. Keep this up and you might get an O on your Potions exam."

Albus smiled and coyly said, "Well, you're a good teacher."

Scorpius smiled briefly then looked away, feeling uncomfortable again. He glanced at the entrance of the library and caught sight of Anna Boyles. She caught his gaze and immediately headed toward him. "Shit," he cursed.

"What?" Albus curiously asked. His curiosity was satisfied as he saw Anna approach their table. Albus stifled a laugh.

"Hey, Scorpius. I haven't seen you in awhile," Anna said, staring longingly at the Slytherin.

"Anna, I'm a little busy here," he muttered.

Anna crept closer to Scorpius and whispered, "Maybe we could share our secret now? I've been thinking about you an awful lot lately."

Scorpius scrunched his nose up, glaring at Albus. Albus, however, had to look away from the two of them so that he wouldn't burst out in laughter.

Then, Anna kissed Scorpius's cheek. He leaned back and gently pushed Anna away. "Hey, you should probably find someone your own age to obsess over."

Anna frowned, pouting. "I thought you liked me."

"Sorry, no. And if you don't mind, you're interrupting us." Scorpius pointed to himself and Albus. It was harsh, but effective. Anna, holding back dramatic tears, bit her lip, getting the hint to leave Scorpius alone, and quickly left the library.

As soon as Anna had left, Albus started laughing. "You were brutal. And you never know, she could be your wife."

Scorpius grimaced and remarked, "Twelve year-olds aren't for me."

Albus grinned, then, before he thought about what he was asking, inquired, "What if she were fifteen?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at Albus's question and wondered at what the Gryffindor was hinting. He decided it was in his best interest to safely change the subject. "I still have to get you back for that."

Albus was slightly disappointed that Scorpius had quickly made a segue; trying to figure out Malfoy was harder than it seemed. And Albus could read people fairly easily, except for the guy in front of him. Hearing what Scorpius said, Albus smirked and retorted, "It's been almost two weeks. I'm starting to think you're all talk and no action."

His eyes darkening in mischief, Scorpius slyly leaned across the table, making himself inches away from Potter's face, and whispered, "I'm waiting for the perfect moment to strike, when you least expect it."

Albus, staring into Scorpius' intense eyes, was both intrigued and afraid.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! My batch of cookies is still warm (and Anna Boyles-free) so please review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay, another update! Thanks to Soapiefan for motivating me to finish xD And thanks to all the many reviews I got. I appreciate them greatly.**

**Disclaimer: I own not the original HP characters. Those rights go to the Einstein-reincarnate JK Rowling.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Scorpius's possible plans for revenge still confused and intrigued Albus, but he couldn't focus on that right now. Today was his Potions test and he felt ready, for once. As he and Louis walked toward the dungeons, Albus told Louis, "I'm going to get an O on this exam, I can feel it."

Louis scoffed at his cousin and said, "That makes one of us. I didn't study at all."

Albus grinned and smugly stated, "You should get a tutor."

"I don't need a tutor, and especially not from a Slytherin. I can only imagine how awful it must be for you to spend time with Malfoy."

Albus shrugged, casually saying, "He's actually not that bad."

Louis stopped mid-step and looked at Albus like he had three heads. "Are you serious?"

Shrugging again, Albus defended, "I feel bad for the guy. He doesn't have any friends. But he's pretty cool once you get to know him." Albus never thought a year ago that he would have taken a liking to the Slytherin. But he only liked Scorpius as a little more than an acquaintance, nothing more. Scorpius to him was just a really attractive, wounded-in-a-sexy-way, acquaintance. Albus sighed, trying to push away any thoughts of Scorpius' being attractive.

"If you say so," Louis murmured, wondering how Albus could think of Malfoy as a friend. He, himself, had never liked Malfoy, and he was pretty sure he never would – but that was just fine with him.

Albus figured that Louis wouldn't understand. He didn't even understand why Malfoy had such a hold over him. As the two Gryffindor boys took their seats, Professor Pucey handed out the exams. Albus wished his cousin good luck, then took out his quill and started working.

Almost forty minutes later, Albus handed in his exam and went back to his seat, satisfied. _That was so easy! I knew almost every question, except problems three and seven. Those were tough._

Twenty minutes later, the class was dismissed. Albus gathered his things and walked out with Louis and Rose. Louis, naturally, was the first to complain. "I failed that test! I didn't even finish."

"That's a surprise," Rose sarcastically said. Louis glared at her. Turning to Albus, she asked, "What about you, Albus?"

"I feel really confident about it. But I had no idea what three was asking."

"Yeah, I had trouble with that question too. Guess Malfoy is helping, though." Rose said.

Albus nodded and smiled. This was the first time he felt happy walking out of Potions class. It was a good feeling, and he couldn't wait to tell Scorpius how well he did.

(

Today was Saturday, and that meant Hogsmeade. Scorpius didn't really want to go to Hogsmeade. He hadn't gone yet this year and he didn't really fancy walking around by himself. But, he also didn't want to spend another Saturday alone inside Hogwarts either. So Scorpius dressed in dark jeans and a dark gray argyle sweater, figuring that he would read under some tree, and headed outside with the other Hogsmeade-bound students. He walked alongside Zabini and Warrington, but didn't pay much attention to what they were talking about – they, too, didn't pay him any mind.

"I'll catch you two later," he said out of courtesy to Warrington and Zabini as they entered the courtyard of Hogsmeade. The two Slytherins nodded briefly and headed toward The Three Broomsticks. Scorpius watched them go and sighed. He really missed having them as friends, but he didn't know what to say to them anymore; they were like strangers now. Spotting a big willow tree near Zonko's Joke Shop, Scorpius sat under the tree and opened his Transfiguration book.

Albus, dressed in a red polo and light-blue jeans, left with his friends. He, Louis, Rose, and Beth walked to Hogsmeade together, laughing and chatting under the afternoon sun. He and Beth held hands the whole way, which amused Louis. "Let's go to Honeydukes!" Albus exclaimed, causing his friends to laugh.

"Typical Al, always wanting candy," Beth said, chuckling. Albus grinned at her and shrugged. "I'm hungry!" He said.

Rose wrinkled her nose and said, "I already ate. Can't we go to the Quill shop and Gladrags first?"

"Yeah, I need a new dress," Beth agreed with Rose. The two girls looked expectantly at the guys. Albus and Louis sighed. "Fine, I'm running low on parchment anyway," said Louis.

Three to one, Albus had lost that battle. As they walked past Zonko's, Albus spotted a familiar blond reading by a tree. Just then, Scorpius looked up from his book and focused his attention on the group of Gryffindors. "Hold on guys, I need to speak to Malfoy."

"We're not waiting forever, Albus," said Beth.

"It'll just be a second." Albus broke from Beth's grip and headed toward Scorpius. "Hey, Malfoy!"

Scorpius, who had bored of doing his homework, closed his book and spotted Albus with his friends. Then, to his surprise, the Gryffindor started walking toward him. "Er, hey," he greeted Potter, standing up, noticing for the first time that he was a few inches taller than the guy. Scorpius inwardly smiled at that thought.

"I took my Potions test yesterday and I think I did pretty well. But I won't know for sure until Wednesday," Albus said.

"That's good," said Malfoy, nodding approvingly. "We'll meet in the library on Thursday then."

Albus nodded then asked, "So how are you?"

Scorpius, who was a bit taken aback by Albus's small talk, especially in front of his friends, slowly said, "Fine, I guess." He glanced at Louis, Rose, and Beth, all of whom looked rather impatient. "I think your friends are waiting."

Albus glanced back and frowned. Then he turned back to Scorpius. "Hold on," he said. Albus walked back to his friends and said, "Hey, you guys go ahead. I'm going to hang out with Malfoy for awhile."

Three pairs of eyebrows shot up. Rose pointedly asked, "Why?"

Albus shrugged, not wanting to go into detail. He just wanted to hang out with Scorpius. Why couldn't that be a normal occurrence? Okay, so hanging out with Scorpius wasn't so normal, but Albus didn't care. "I'll see you guys later." Then he left three very confused Gryffindors.

"Want to hang out with me?" He asked Scorpius.

Scorpius tried not to let any surprise show, even though he was shocked. _Why do you want to hang out with _me_? _He silently asked Albus. But he didn't have anything else to do so Scorpius shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."

Albus stifled a grin and asked, "Care if we go to Honeydukes? I haven't had my chocolate fix yet today."

Scorpius let out a small laugh and quipped, "Your being a chocolate addict explains so much."

Albus laughed too, smiling, as he and Scorpius headed toward Honeydukes. No matter how many times Albus walked inside this store, he was always blown away by the colors, the smells, and the whole atmosphere of the place. Albus smiled even wider as he headed toward the back. Right now, he craved some chocolate strawberry truffles.

Scorpius followed Albus, looking around at the shelves upon shelves of sweets. He, himself, never had much of a sweet tooth. He only really liked treacle fudge, but Scorpius hadn't had fudge in years. Actually, as he walked around the store with Albus, his stomach began growling.

Albus, hearing a grumble come from Scorpius, turned around and grinned. "Someone's hungry."

Scorpius scowled at Albus and asked, "Have you made up your mind yet?" Albus had two candy bars, a bag of strawberry truffles, and a lollipop in his hands. "Looks like you could eat for the both of us," he remarked.

Albus looked down at the sweets in his hands, mentally choosing which one to buy. Finally, he decided on just getting the truffles. "Okay, I've decided."

Scorpius shook his head at the Gryffindor as he himself grabbed a bag of treacle fudge. Then the two boys headed to the counter to pay. As they left Honeydukes, Albus and Scorpius walked aimlessly to a place that was more secluded. Sitting on the grass, Scorpius watched Albus take a bite out of his chocolate. Albus looked attractive, as usual. His tanned muscles showed through his polo and his bangs were neatly spiked. Scorpius looked down at his own pale, thin self and became jealous of Albus' muscles. He used to be toned too, but that was before he stopped working out and stopped eating as much. "Can I ask you a question?" Scorpius found himself asking Albus.

Albus swallowed his chocolate and nodded, facing the Slytherin.

Scorpius looked straight into Albus' emerald eyes and questioned, "Why are you hanging out with me instead of your friends?"

Albus paused, thinking about how he would answer. He figured saying that he was intrigued by the guy would have been too weird. So he shrugged and replied, "They were going to Gladrags and I wanted food."

Scorpius smiled in spite of himself. He hadn't expected Albus to give him a sincere answer. He held up the bag of truffles and said, "This is hardly considered food."

Albus grinned as he defended, "But it's delicious. Have you ever had one?"

Scorpius shook his head no which caused Albus' eyes to widen in mock horror. "You are missing out! Here, open your mouth." He reached into his bag, grabbed a truffle, and placed it in Scorpius's open mouth. As Scorpius chewed, Albus waited expectantly for his reaction.

"Wow, this is pretty good," Scorpius said as he swallowed the candy. "I'm perfectly capable of holding chocolates myself, though."

Blushing furiously, Albus looked away. He smiled sheepishly and softly said, "Sorry, I don't know why I did that." Brushing his fingers across Scorpius' lips had felt really nice though, unfortunately. Albus did not want to start crushing on Malfoy. _He just makes me nervous, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm probably just jittery from the chocolate._ That voice in his head wasn't very convincing, but he was quite fine with believing it anyhow.

Scorpius, however, was pleasantly surprised that Albus had done such an intimate act. He didn't know what placing a chocolate on his tongue meant, but Scorpius, ever the pessimist, figured that it meant nothing. Anyway, he didn't want to read into anything that wasn't there. "It's fine, just a little odd," he stated.

Albus blushed even harder, if that were possible. Scorpius took note of Albus' red face with intrigue. To make yet another awkward situation less awkward, Scorpius lightly offered Albus, "Want some of my fudge?"

Albus' eyes gleamed at Scorpius's offer, glad for the segue. "Well, if you insist," he said, grinning. Scorpius reached into his bag and dropped some of his fudge into Albus's hand. Albus happily ate the fudge and said, "Chocolate is the best invention ever made."

Scorpius shook his head, grinning. "You are so weird."

"Okay, this is coming from the guy who probably thinks cauldrons are the best invention ever. Your obsession with Potions is pretty strange, Scorpius." Albus retorted.

Scorpius frowned and said, "I am not obsessed with Potions. I'm just better at it than you." He paused and got an odd look on his face. "Wait, did you just call me Scorpius?"

Frowning as well, Albus slowly said, "Well, that's your name, isn't it?" Although, now that he thought about it, he had never called Scorpius by his first name. Albus hoped that he hadn't offended the Slytherin.

"No shit, but you've never called me Scorpius before," Scorpius retorted, not sure how he felt about it. He never even called Zabini and Warrington by their first names.

Albus casually shrugged and tried to make light of his slip-up. He leaned on his elbows and stared up at the cloudy sky. "I guess we haven't reached that point in our acquaintanceship yet, eh?"

Scorpius stared at Albus with an amused look. "Our acquaintanceship?" Albus gave a pointed nod in response. Scorpius thought about that word. He and Albus weren't really friends so acquaintanceship seemed to fit pretty well. He leaned back on his elbows and glanced up at the sky as Albus had done. "Well, I guess I should be thankful that I have something, even if it is with you." Scorpius muttered.

Albus pretended to look upset as he glanced over at Scorpius. "Ouch, I'm hurt." Then with a small smirk, he retorted, "But it looks as though you need me more than I need you. I'm doing quite well in the friends department."

Scorpius tried not to wince at Albus's retort, but it was true. As much as he was never going to admit it, he kind of, _maybe _enjoyed Albus's company. Showing no emotion on his face, he shot back, "Sure, that's why you were so keen to ditch your friends for me."

Albus smiled a little at Scorpius's comeback. Instead of coming up with a counter – he was always so bad at making comebacks – Albus asked Scorpius, "Well what about Warrington and Zabini? You three used to be pretty close."

Scorpius scoffed in spite of himself. "Warrington and Zabini were never my friends. They followed me and when I was no longer their leader, they stopped talking to me." He missed being in charge and having people look up to him. It made him feel special and superior; now he felt anything but.

Albus frowned as he bluntly said, "That sucks." He would never want "followers" instead of friends. It sounded like a lonely life.

Shrugging, Scorpius looked away from Albus and sighed. _I wouldn't expect you to understand. You actually have friends who give an ounce about you. _He didn't say anything though because he didn't want to talk about how lonely he was. He didn't need Potter to feel sorry for him. Turning to the sky, which was getting progressively darker, Scorpius sat up and turned to Albus. "We should probably start heading back."

Agreeing, Albus stood up and started to walk toward the Hogsmeade station with Scorpius. "Er, thanks for hanging out with me, Scor – Malfoy." He awkwardly said as they fell into step.

Scorpius gave an odd grin as he replied, "You can call me Scorpius. It doesn't bother me."

"Oh, well, if you're sure." Albus softly said. Scorpius nodded and the two fell silent for a moment. Then, Albus questioned, "Will you call me Albus?"

Scorpius almost laughed at the Gryffindor's question. He smirked and quipped, "If it means _so_ much to you that we be on a first name basis, I guess I'll oblige. But I'm starting to think that you want to be more than acquaintances." He raised his eyebrows, amused.

Albus's cheeks reddened and he turned away so that Scorpius wouldn't see his blushing. "Of course not. I could care less." He quickly stated.

Albus's response made Scorpius smirk even wider. As they neared the station, Scorpius drawled, "Well, see you later, _Albus_."

Still red, Albus quickly waved goodbye then hurried to his friends who were waiting for him. He mentally kicked himself for acting like such an idiot. But inside, he was pleased with how his afternoon had turned out. Strangely, so was Scorpius.

* * *

** I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Keep the reviews coming please; I love to hear what you think of my story. This time you'll get chocolate-covered strawberry truffles and treacle fudge as your reward.**

**Also, if you have any ideas as to what Scorpius's revenge might be for Albus, let me know. :) It's coming up soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry for the late update! I had intended on making this chapter longer but it wouldn't have flowed well. This chapter is a bit short but still good. **

**Once again, thanks so much to all of those who reviewed (there are too many to name). I appreciate it so much!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The genius J.K. Rowling owns everything HP-related. I can only dream that I would think of something as wonderful as Harry Potter...**

* * *

Chapter 5

Scorpius and Albus never really conversed in classes nor in the hallways. Not because they were ashamed of each other, but because Albus was always surrounded by people; Scorpius didn't know how to approach him nor did Albus know how to break away from his friends. But whenever they were in class together – they shared three – the two always gave the other a cordial nod or smile.

While the act was subtle, Albus' friends had noticed a change in Albus whenever Malfoy's name was mentioned. He never made fun of or talked badly about the Slytherin anymore, and he pointedly instructed his friends not to do so either. Albus really wanted to become Scorpius' friend, for whatever reason, and this completely bewildered everyone.

Beth was especially perturbed. He didn't pay as much attention to her as he used to. In fact, he had begun to distance himself away from her lately. Unfortunately, her irritation with Albus was reaching the boiling point.

Today was Wednesday afternoon which meant that Albus would get his Potions exam grade. As he sat in the room beside Louis and Rose, he waited expectantly for that parchment. Professor Pucey walked by his table, gave a small satisfactory smile, and handed Albus his exam back. Albus immediately turned over the parchment and gave a sigh of relief and joy when he saw the grade. "I got an O! I only missed four questions." He exclaimed to his two friends.

Rose said congratulations and squeezed his arm as Louis, groaning, snatched Albus' parchment from his hands. "How is that possible?" He incredulously asked.

Albus just grinned and shrugged. "Scorpius is good."

Louis scowled at Albus as he lectured, "Stop saying his first name. It's freaking me out." Handing the parchment back to Albus, Louis muttered, "He's turning you into some Malfoy mutant clone."

"That's ridiculous," Albus said, rolling his eyes at how dramatic Louis was being. The two boys were shushed by Professor Pucey and they remained quiet for the rest of class.

Later that day, Albus arrived at the commons, sweaty and grimy from Quidditch practice. He had stayed after practice with a few of his teammates to go over strategies for this weekend's game. As he walked in, he found a cross-looking Beth waiting for him. Albus inwardly groaned when he saw Beth's expression.

"Where were you?" She demanded, standing up.

Albus narrowed his eyes, wondering why she was acting crazy. "I had Quidditch practice, Beth. You know that." He cautiously and evenly stated.

"It's seven thirty," she said, arms folded across her chest. "We were supposed to have dinner together outside."

"I stayed late," he defended. "What's with you?" Albus sighed. He had been having such a good day, too.

Beth softened her expression and slowly answered, "Nothing, I just feel like you're avoiding me."

Albus bit his lip then softly mumbled, "I've been busy." It was true though, he had been avoiding her, hoping that she would take the hint that he didn't want the benefriends thing to continue. Apparently, she hadn't gotten the hint.

"Well, let's go to the towers now," she lightly offered.

Sighing once more, Albus had been dreading this moment, but it had been coming for awhile. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings, but it seemed inevitable at this point. Albus chose his words carefully before finally speaking. "Look, Beth, there's something I've been meaning to say." His eyebrows furrowed, Albus hated what he was about to say next. He cared about Beth, but only as a friend. "I don't think we should do this anymore, making out and everything. It doesn't feel right to me."

Beth was quiet for awhile, letting his words sink in. Slowly, she asked, "Are you breaking up with me?"

Albus bit his lip and tentatively said, "Well, we were never in a relationship."

"Yes we were!" Beth cried out. Then she narrowed her eyes at Albus and darkly asked, "Are you cheating on me?"

"No, I'm not!" Albus immediately said, his voice raising a little. Calming himself down, Albus softly and quickly explained, "Beth, I never considered you as my girlfriend. I'm sorry if you liked me more than I liked you, but I would rather be friends." He winced, knowing that this situation was like a Band-Aid that needed to be ripped off quickly.

Beth's lip trembled and she muttered, "Fine," before exiting the commons. Albus sighed again, slumping down in an oversize chair. He hated it when people were mad at him. But this had to be done; he didn't feel right with Beth. He just wished the timing and place had been better.

(

The next day, unsurprising to Albus, Beth blatantly avoided him. She didn't sit with him at breakfast or lunch nor did she talk to him the whole day. It kind of upset Albus. He didn't want this to ruin their friendship. Her ignoring him today also meant that she was ignoring their mutual friends; that created some tension. So, Albus wasn't in a fantastic mood for obvious reasons. Luckily, he had a potions lesson with Scorpius which would get him away from all the petty drama.

Later that evening, Albus walked to the usual spot in the library and Scorpius came in a few minutes later.

"Hey," Albus greeted the guy, smiling for probably the first time today.

Scorpius gave a nod and asked, "How are you?"

"Terrible, and yourself?" Albus responded.

Scorpius tilted his head to one side, perplexed as to why Albus was having a bad day. The Gryffindor seemed happy all the time. But examining his crest-fallen expression, Scorpius could tell that something was bothering Albus. "What happened?" He curiously inquired, wondering if this had something to do with Albus' potions exam grade.

Albus let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "I broke up - well, no, those are the wrong words." His eyebrows furrowed, Albus tried again, "I told Beth that I didn't like her romantically. And now she's ignoring me, which is stupid because I expected us to be friends but she's complicating things."

"What do you expect? She's a girl." Scorpius remarked. Albus frowned at Scorpius. That was not the condolence he had been expecting. Sensing this, Scorpius added, "I'm sure she'll come around soon. You just have to give her time to move on."

"I wish I hadn't even kissed her over the summer," he miserably stated, resting his chin on his palm. "She completely got the wrong idea."

A strange, perplexed look appeared upon Scorpius' face. "What do you mean? Weren't you two together?"

"No, we weren't. I never liked her in that way." Albus said for the fourth time today. In truth, Albus had only kissed Beth to see what kissing a girl would be like. She was his first kiss, and he wanted to see if his liking guys were a phase or some bizarre idea he had concocted in his head. But that kiss had only confirmed his sexuality. Unfortunately, that kiss meant Beth, who had been crushing on Albus all last year, got the wrong idea about Albus' intentions. He had been selfish and insensitive, and now he was paying the price.

Scorpius remained confused. Trying to figure out the Gryffindor, he slowly said, "Let me get this straight. You never liked her but you pretended you did _and _youmade out with her." He shook his head as he added, "That's cruel, Albus." Scorpius was honestly surprised that "Golden Boy Potter" was capable of something so harsh.

_Well when you put it that way, _Albus bitterly thought, groaning. He had been a jerk to Beth. "I didn't mean for it to continue. I just hope she'll forgive me."

Scorpius' insides leapt as he realized this meant Albus was single. Though he had never been one for gossip and immature adolescent conversations, Scorpius was lying if he said he weren't curious as to why Albus didn't like Beth. After all, even he had noticed that those two spent a lot of time together. So, deciding to press the issue further, Scorpius casually asked, "If you don't mind my asking, why don't you like her?" While Scorpius didn't find Beth attractive, she was quite pretty so it had to be more than looks. _She probably has a dull personality,_ he thought to himself. _Most Gryffindors do._

Albus bit his lip, wondering how to answer Scorpius' out-of-character question. He finally chose to be ambiguous and said with a shrug, "She's not my type."

Scorpius grew intrigued. Talking about something so trivial was surprisingly quite entertaining. The more he hung out with Albus, the less he felt ostracized from society; it was a comforting feeling. Leaning over the table, a smirk prominent on his face, Scorpius softly asked, "What is your type?"

Swallowing hard, a fluttery feeling in his stomach, Albus was taken aback by the Slytherin's suddenly sultry tone. Instead of giving the answer Scorpius sought, Albus decided he had more fun purposely digressing. So he leaned across the table too, stared Scorpius in his silvery-blue eyes, and playfully said, "You ask too many questions." Then he sat back in his chair and smirked.

Scorpius sat back in his chair as well and held in a sigh. He shook his head and grinned, speechless for a comeback, which was a first.

Feeling triumphant for rendering the Slytherin speechless for once, Albus happily asked, "So shall we get started with correcting my mistakes on the exam?"

Nodding, Scorpius took out his test – he had a perfect score – and compared it with Albus' exam. He was pleased with the score Albus got; it meant his teaching was working. So the two worked for a half hour, correcting the mistakes made. Around 7:45, having corrected everything, both boys packed their bags.

As they headed out the library, Scorpius turned to Albus and remarked, "Soon, you won't need me as a tutor."

Albus tilted his head to the side as he said, "I don't think so. We still have final exams coming up." He had grown used to his and Scorpius' routine; he wasn't ready to let it go yet.

Scorpius satisfactorily smiled, glad that Albus still wanted him as a tutor. "Alright, then let's meet next Tuesday to study."

Albus nodded and grinned. "Same time?"

"Yeah," Scorpius replied. He liked feeling wanted; tutoring Albus gave him a little bit of the pride and self-esteem he once possessed. Scorpius wouldn't know what to do once Albus no longer needed him, as pathetic as that was.

"Sounds good," Albus said, breaking Scorpius from his thoughts. "See you later, Scorpius." After Scorpius said his goodbye, the two boys turned and walked in opposite ways.

Scorpius briefly stopped, looked over his shoulder, and gave a longing, curious look at the Gryffindor. He stared for a few seconds then hurriedly turned around and walked to the Dungeons.

As Scorpius walked, Albus, too, gave the same longing look at the Slytherin for a brief few seconds before continuing to his walk to the Gryffindor towers.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And next one will be even saucier... ;) but that's all I'm going to say!**

**Please review...they keep me motivated to write!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it lots and lots! :) Also, thanks for being patient with this chapter. But it's up now, and I really hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The totally awesome J.K. Rowling does!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Scorpius could not shake the thought of Albus Potter. He sat on his broom, hovering over the Quidditch pitch, resting from having flown around for an hour and a half. Scorpius was dying to know whether Albus was interested in him or not. He had snogged and flirted with a couple of guys before but they had been more open with their feelings. Albus was a locked diary that Scorpius wanted to pry open and devour all its secrets.

From the last few encounters with the Gryffindor, Scorpius got this vibe from Albus that he was gay. He definitely seemed to like him, anyway. But Scorpius wasn't sure. And he didn't want to risk rejection; his ego was already bruised enough. As the Slytherin flew around, faster and faster, he decided that he would have to discreetly and stealthily find out for himself. With a plan developing in his mind, Scorpius flew back to the ground, a pronounced smirk upon his face.

(

Albus walked to the usual spot in the library that Tuesday, spotting Scorpius stir something that emitted purple and pink smoke in a cauldron.

"What are you doing?" Albus inquired, sitting down across from the Slytherin.

Scorpius glanced up at Albus and with a smile, he brightly said, "We are brewing a love potion today."

Albus' forehead wrinkled as he stared dumbfounded at Scorpius. "Er, isn't that a little advanced?" He slowly asked.

Scorpius shrugged as he casually stated, "Only by a year. Anyway, you should get ahead of the other students."

Albus wondered why Scorpius seemed so uncharacteristically chipper, but he decided it would be easier just to go along with Scorpius. So he set his cauldron and supplies on the table, then expectantly watched the boy brew the potion.

After a couple of minutes, Scorpius finished the _Amortentia_ potion. "Okay, you need yours to look exactly like this," he instructed Albus.

Albus peered into the cauldron, analyzing the color and texture of the liquid. Suddenly, the smoke changed and Albus got a whiff of a strong, distinct scent.

"What do you smell?" Scorpius asked, anxiously observing Albus.

Albus sniffed again, processed the three smells, and said, "Dewy grass, chocolate, and pumpkin spice." He stared right at Scorpius when he said 'pumpkin spice.' That smell was familiar. Then Albus' eyes widened as he thought, _Shit, that's Scorpius' cologne! _Quickly, Albus added, "Er, I think that last bit was pumpkin spice. Hard to tell."

Scorpius nodded his head at the first two smells Albus described; those were obvious. But the third perplexed him for a split second. Then he realized that he spritzed 'Bewitching Wizards: Pumpkin Spice' cologne every time he hung out with Albus. A huge grin involuntarily broke out across Scorpius' face, though he tried to be careful about reading too much into this. Casually, he asked, "Why pumpkin spice?"

Albus felt hot when Scorpius grinned. It would be awful if Scorpius knew about his small crush on the Slytherin; surely Scorpius would be weirded out and poke fun at him. He hastily said, "No, it wasn't that. It was, er, apple cinnamon! They practically smell the same."

Scorpius gave Albus a look, as if to say 'you're-totally-lying-through-your-teeth.' Nonetheless, he decided to let the matter go for now, not wanting to be pushy; but he did note how uncomfortable and red Albus had become. Changing the subject, Scorpius said, "Okay, whatever. You need to make the potion now."

Albus was thankful for the subject change so he happily obeyed, though he knew he would screw up the love potion.

Forty minutes later, Albus was finally done. It had taken him three tries because he had royally screwed up the first two. He wasn't so confident with this one either, but from the look on Scorpius' face, Scorpius was growing impatient so he didn't want to restart again. Purple and pink smoke emitted from the cauldron, but the colors were darker than the colors in Scorpius' potion.

When Scorpius saw that Albus was finished, he peered in the cauldron and sniffed. A putrid, horrible stench filled his nostrils. He immediately pushed the cauldron away, holding his nose, as he said in disgust, "Eugh, that's awful! You could kill someone with this potion!"

Albus' face fell. He could not get this damn potion right. Sighing, Albus sheepishly said, "I told you this was too advanced for me."

"Sorry I doubted you," Scorpius said, his nose wrinkled. "I think that will be enough for today." Relieved, Albus began to gather his things, standing up, ready to get out of this library. The whole love potion thing was making him uncomfortable. He was stopped, however, when Scorpius suddenly asked, "In a hurry?"

"We're done, aren't we?" Usually he stayed to talk with Scorpius for another hour after their potion lesson, but today he wanted to get away from the Slytherin, who was obviously up to something.

"Why did you smell pumpkin spice?" Scorpius abruptly questioned Albus, a curious gleam in his eye.

Albus sat back down and casually said, "It was apple cinnamon, I told you that." Though his voice remained even, he grew fidgety.

Scorpius was still unconvinced. He coolly explained, "I'm not a big fan of desserts, but even I know those are two very distinct smells."

Albus didn't like Scorpius controlling this conversation. Scorpius was clearly up to something and Albus was not going to give in so easily. He suspiciously asked, "Why do you care so much?"

Without blinking, Scorpius leaned in closer to the table and in a low voice, he said, "I'm curious as to why you smelled my cologne in the potion." Albus' stomach did flip-flops. He had no idea how to answer that question. Scorpius took Al's speechlessness in stride. Further provoking the boy, Scorpius coyly asked, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Immediately glancing away from Scorpius, fidgeting in his seat, Albus grew more uncomfortable. _Why is he trying to make me confess that I like him? _Albus thought bitterly to himself. He wasn't fond of the fact that he had fallen for the Slytherin, but it had inevitably happened and there was really nothing he could do about it. _All Scorpius wants to do is rub this in my face. _Albus was worried that if he confessed to Scorpius, things would change between them; Scorpius might be freaked out. He was kind of freaked, himself; he had never actually liked anyone before, not like this. This was a new experience for him. Another part of Albus didn't want to give what Scorpius was looking for, adding to his pride. _Then again,_ Albus thought, _Scorpius doesn't seem as though he has much pride. _Finally, Albus, pretending to be undeterred by Scorpius' interrogation, spoke, "You tell me."

Scorpius wasn't conceited enough to outright say that Albus liked him, let alone that the Gryffindor was gay. He also wasn't positive that these statements were true. Furthermore, he was pessimistic and didn't think that Albus would be into him. After all, Scorpius didn't find anything special about himself. He just put on a front that he was confident and arrogant, when really he was anything but. Not anymore. But his curiosity was overwhelming; Scorpius had to know. So pointedly ignoring what Albus said, Scorpius, with his façade of confidence still present, asked the Gryffindor, "If you had to give a love potion to a professor, would you give it to Professor Mcgonagall, Madame Pomfrey, or Professor Puccey?" He slightly raised his eyebrow when he said 'Professor Puccey.'

Albus' eyes narrowed at Scorpius' bizarre question. It was obvious what Scorpius was trying to make Albus say, which made Albus more likely to say nothing at all. "What are you getting at?" He slowly asked Scorpius, growing more irritated now.

"Nothing, it's just a question."

"It's a weird question."

"Perhaps, but it should also be easy to answer."

"Well, who would you give it to?"

"No, I asked you first."

"Dammit, Scorpius, you are infuriating." Albus let out a sigh of frustration. Obviously Scorpius wasn't going to let this go until he got what he wanted. So Albus decided to tell him if it meant that he would shut up. "Fine, I'm gay, okay? And yes, I have a small, primary school crush on you. Are you happy now?" Albus stood up, still irritated and slightly embarrassed, ready to leave.

Scorpius' eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little. He hadn't actually expected to hear those words come out of Albus' mouth. He was surprised, but pleasantly so. It took a few seconds for Scorpius to fully process what he had just heard. _Albus likes me? Seriously?_ Scorpius had had a crush on Albus for over a year, and now he just found out his crush reciprocated those feelings. Scorpius was…happy, something he didn't feel often. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Albus looked as though he was going to walk away. "Wait, don't leave," Scorpius said to the flustered Gryffindor.

Albus stared at Scorpius from across the table, folding his arms across his chest. He couldn't believe what he had just admitted. "Don't patronize me about this, okay? I didn't expect to like you…" Albus continued to talk about something, but Scorpius had stopped listening. He got up from his seat, walked toward Albus, and hushed the Gryffindor by planting a kiss on his lips.

Albus was shocked for a few seconds but quickly recovered when he felt how soft and moist Scorpius' lips were. He kissed back, smiling to himself as he did so. At this point, Albus didn't feel like he was in his body; he felt as though this was someone else's dream and he was just watching, just pretending.

Then the kiss was over. Scorpius broke away, remembering that they were in a library, and stared into Albus' bright green eyes.

Albus blinked a couple times as if he were in a daze. Running his fingers through his untidy black hair, he softly said, "This was not how I thought the day would go."

Scorpius gave a small smile. "Me either, but I've wanted to do that for awhile," he shyly said, biting his lip to savor Albus' taste.

Albus tilted his head to the side, wondering just how long Scorpius had liked him. He didn't ask, however, because he was still rendered speechless. Albus wasn't usually speechless, either; he was known to talk incessantly. However, here he was, staring at the boy he had just kissed. It was a lot to take in for the Potter. After about a minute, Albus finally managed to stutter, "I, er, guess I'll see you in, er, class tomorrow."

Scorpius nodded, then watched the brunette slowly leave, but not without looking back at Scorpius a couple times. Scorpius watched Albus until his figure disappeared from view. He couldn't wait to feel those pink lips on his own lips again. But for right now, he was content. He hadn't thought this would be the ending to his day, but he had hoped it'd be so.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me your thoughts about it by reviewing. And look out for the next saucy chapter! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Surprised this is up so soon? Yeah, me too! Guess this is what happens when you have a whole Sunday to do nothing but write fanfiction and listen to Mumford and Sons. :) Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, which all you will be happy to know that it's twice as long as the last two have been.

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and has been reading my story. I greatly appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the rich and famous J.K. Rowling does!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Immediately after leaving the library, Albus bounded up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, seeking out Louis. He needed to talk to someone about what had just happened, even if Louis had no idea what was going on. After all, he had never told Louis that he liked Scorpius or was gay. He had never told anyone except Scorpius. Albus still couldn't believe he had told Scorpius. But, it had worked out for him. Scorpius liked him, which was bewildering and amazing at the same time.

Thankfully, Albus found Louis studying on his bed just in time before his mind exploded. "Louis!" He instantly called out to his cousin.

Louis looked up from his History of Magic book, alarmed by Albus' tone. "What is it?" He asked.

Albus sat down next to Louis on the bed and looked at his cousin. He didn't exactly know what to say. He had so many things running through his mind that he couldn't formulate any sentences at first. Taking a few deep breaths, trying to clear his mind, Albus could only focus on one memory – that kiss. And what an incredible kiss it had been.

Louis waited expectantly for Albus to say something, anything. When Albus didn't, Louis shook his cousin's arm and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

Louis' words snapped Albus from his daze. "Yeah, sorry."

"I'm on the edge of my seat, here. What do you have to tell me?" Louis questioned, growing impatient.

As discreetly as possible, Albus began, "Something monumental just happened to me and I don't really know how to tell you. I can barely fathom it myself."

"Merlin, what the hell is it?" Louis demanded, his bright blue eyes boring into Albus' own for an answer.

Taking in a deep breath, Albus exhaled then quietly said, "I kissed someone tonight."

Louis stared blankly at Albus. Blinking a couple of times, he waited for Albus to continue. When the guy just stared at Louis, he let out a big huff, "_And_?" He drawled impatiently.

Albus bit his lip, knowing that he would have to inevitably continue. Drumming his fingers on his leg, Albus grew uncomfortable. But he knew he would have to eventually come out to Louis. Louis was his best friend and Albus knew, and hoped, that his cousin wouldn't get mad or tell anyone else. That knowledge still didn't make Albus any less nervous, however. In a small voice, Albus confessed, "It was a boy."

Louis slowly exhaled as he finally heard what Albus was trying to tell him. "How was it?" He nonchalantly asked his cousin.

That wasn't exactly the reaction Albus had expected. He had expected a look of shock, disbelief, _something._ But Louis didn't even flinch! "I tell you I kissed a boy and you're not the least bit surprised or mad?" He asked incredulously.

Louis let out a laugh as he said with ease, "This wasn't exactly a surprise." And it wasn't. He had known Albus all his life. Whenever they and their friends were in the third year and started talking about girls, who were going through puberty, Albus had a look of disinterest upon his face. The guy had never been interested in girls. Louis, who had always prided himself on being observant, knew because Albus' eyes were very telling; thus, whenever a guy who would be classified as good-looking passed by, Albus' eyes lingered with longing on said guy longer than normal. These weren't the only reasons, of course. More than anything, Louis just caught that vibe from Albus. He had always wondered when his best friend would come out of the proverbial closet, and he was quite pleased to know he had been right all along.

Albus tilted his head to the side, confused. How had Louis known before he did? "So you knew I liked blokes?" He asked his cousin.

Louis nodded then said, "Yeah, actually me, Lily, and Rose had a bet going on when you'd come out." He scratched his head then gave a devious smile. "Actually, this means I win the bet. Oh, I can't wait to tell them!"

Albus looked at Louis as if he had three heads. Making sure he heard right, he slowly questioned, "You three had a bet? Who else thought it was _so _obvious that I'm gay?" He almost asked what they had betted but then decided he probably didn't want to know.

Thinking about this for a few seconds, Louis finally shrugged and said, "No one that I know of. Beth definitely isn't aware, and I don't think James is either." James wasn't exactly the quickest rabbit in the herd.

Albus breathed a sigh of relief. At least it hadn't been totally obvious. "Well, don't tell anyone, okay?" Albus didn't want the whole world knowing about him, not yet. This was still pretty new to him.

Louis nodded and sincerely said, "You'll come out to everyone when you're ready. I understand." He was clearly pleased he had been the first one Albus told. Too bad he couldn't brag about this to anyone.

"Thanks mate," Albus said, smiling, breathing a sigh of relief. He knew Louis would keep his secret, though it would probably kill him inside. But they had each other's backs.

Louis smiled as well. He wondered just who Albus had kissed. Louis hadn't even realized that Albus was spending time alone with a boy. Whenever Albus wasn't hanging with him and their friends, he was at tutoring or at Quidditch practice. Louis then wondered if Albus fancied someone from Quidditch. Kyle McLaggen instantly came to mind; Louis had always thought that guy rooted for the other team. Then again, McLaggen didn't seem like Albus' type, though Louis didn't really know what type of blokes Albus liked. He just figured that since McLaggen was an arrogant prick, Albus wouldn't care for the guy. His curiosity piqued, he asked, "So who did you kiss?"

Albus wrinkled his nose, dreading answering this question. Simply put, Louis was not fond of Scorpius, at all. The two had bashed heads, and fists, on more than one occasion. So it was obvious that Louis would definitely not approve of his liking Malfoy. But Albus knew that if he didn't tell Louis, his friend would keep bugging him until he did. Albus also didn't want to lie. So he had no choice but to tell Louis he was crushing on Louis' nemesis. _This will go over well,_ he thought to himself, inwardly groaning.

"Don't get mad, okay?" Albus warned Louis.

His blond eyebrows pinched together, Louis asked, suspicious. "Why would I get mad?" Now Louis was certain Albus liked McLaggen. He wasn't mad, just surprised Albus would go for that type.

Albus breathed in deeply then slowly exhaled, trying to stall. "Well, let me just preface by saying he is actually a nice guy. He's changed, Louis."

Louis tilted his head in confusion and impatience. Maybe Albus wasn't talking about McLaggen. Dying from the suspense, Louis snapped, "I'm going to get mad if you don't tell me who it is you like, Al!"

"I kissed Scorpius Malfoy," Albus bluntly and hurriedly said, cringing from Louis' reaction.

A bewildered expression appeared upon Louis' face. _Did he just say Malfoy? As in the douchebag we both despise?_ Blinking a couple of times, making sure he heard Albus correctly, Louis slowly asked, "Are you serious?"

Albus nodded and quickly said, "Please don't freak out."

"Freak out? Why would I freak out? You just kissed the guy who revels in making our lives miserable. The guy whom you know I hate. That's completely normal!" Louis dramatically and sarcastically stated.

Albus sighed as he defended the Slyterin, "Scorpius is a decent guy, Louis. And he's gone through something terrible which has made him less of a prick, but also broken."

Louis should have seen this coming. First, Albus was tutored by Malfoy. Then, Albus said Malfoy was an okay guy. And _then, _those two hung out together at Hogsmeade. He just didn't want to believe that Albus and Malfoy would be friends, let alone _like_ each other. And he _had_ noticed Malfoy wasn't as much of an ass as he used to be, but that still didn't mean Louis liked the prick.

"I don't like this," Louis stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I know, but I can't help how I feel. I didn't exactly mean for this to happen, you know," Albus huffed, disappointed that Louis was being so stubborn. Stubbornness definitely ran in the Weasley family.

Honestly, Louis would rather Albus and Beth be back together, as terrible as that sounded. Louis wasn't even fond of Beth, but she was much more appealing than the other git. "I just don't understand how you could possibly see anything in Malfoy. You know, no one else is going to be happy about this, either."

Shrugging, Albus haughtily replied, "I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about this. But you're not going to say anything." Then, softening his expression, Albus gently added, "Can you please try to be okay with this? For me? I'll show you that he's changed."

Louis looked at Albus for a long minute. He did not want his best friend snogging Scorpius Malfoy. The Slytherin had been nothing but trouble. But he also didn't want Albus to be upset with him. After all, his best friend had finally come out to him; Louis still wanted to be the go-to guy for Albus to share his secrets. So, though it killed him, Louis said, "I'll try."

Albus smiled, relieved. "Thanks, Louis!" He said, hugging his cousin, feeling better about this whole situation.

(

_Scorpius and his mother, Astoria, both dressed in black, sat in two white chairs outside. In front of them was a casket where Draco laid, dressed in his best business suit. Scorpius glanced at his mother who was silently bawling, the endless tears streaming down her cheeks. She held a pale pink handkerchief to her cheeks, quickly wiping the tears. Scorpius turned around in his chair and watched adults talk amongst themselves, probably reminiscing about his father. He saw the Warringtons and the Zabinis. They had already expressed their condolences. Then he laid his eyes on the Potters and the Weasleys. What were they doing here?_

_Scorpius wanted to be anywhere but here. He didn't know half of these people, and most of the people here he didn't even care for. He tugged on his mother's sleeve and said, "May we go? I don't like this."_

_Astoria shook her head no. "The service is about to start. It won't be long, sweetie." Scorpius sensed she felt as uncomfortable as he. He turned away from his mother when two women in weird hats came up to talk to his mother. Before they could say how sorry they were to him, Scorpius got up from his chair to get a glass of water. There, he ran into Albus and James. _

_"I'm sorry about your Dad, Mal-Scorpius," Albus said rather awkwardly._

_Scorpius just mumbled, "It's not your fault." Then he quickly left to avoid being talked to again. As Scorpius headed up to the front row where his mother sat, he glanced at the casket. Scorpius couldn't look inside. Seeing his father so lifeless and waxy made his father's death way too real. He still half expected his father to come from behind, clamp a hand on his shoulder, and tell him everything would be okay. But nothing would be okay anymore. His hero had died, and a part of Scorpius felt as though he could have prevented the death. If he had gone outside and hexed the masked man sooner, then maybe his father would be here and these stupid old people he didn't know wouldn't tell him how sorry they were for his loss. _

_As tears cascaded down his already tear-stained cheeks, a man's voice jolted Scorpius from his thoughts. "At least it's a beautiful day out."_

_Scorpius turned around and saw that Ezekiel Byrnes, Dad's right-hand man, was speaking to him. "What?" He asked, wondering why Byrnes was talking about the weather._

_"Sorry, Scorp, I don't really know what to say in these situations," Ezekiel uncomfortably said. Scorpius was grateful that the guy hadn't apologized like everyone else. Continuing, Ezekiel added, "I just want you to know that Draco was my best friend; he was there with me through the toughest times."_

_Scorpius numbly nodded as he quietly said, "He spoke fondly of you, too."_

_Ezekiel smiled. Then, his smile disappearing, he solemnly stated, "It's terrible this had to happen the way it did." _

_Before Scorpius could ask what Ezekiel meant, he heard his mother call his name. Scorpius quickly said goodbye to Ezekiel then returned to his mother in time for the memorial service to begin._

Scorpius woke up in a sweat, gasping for air as if he had a panic attack. He felt angry about that memory as the words, '_Draco was my best friend,'_ came to mind. Scorpius wiped his watery eyes and noticed his sheets were on the floor. He was probably thrashing in his sleep again. Glancing at the clock, Scorpius noticed it was a little after four a.m. He sighed and quietly pulled his sheets on his bed, then lied back down. An overwhelming sadness enveloped him as Scorpius processed the nightmare. It was a memory from the funeral. Scorpius had forgotten Ezekiel was there, which upset Scorpius even more. Sighing again, he realized he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep today.

When the other Slytherin boys woke and reluctantly got out of bed to shower, Scorpius figured it was time to start his day, too. He was exhausted but he hadn't gone back to sleep, too afraid to have another nightmare. After he took a shower, Scorpius, his towel wrapped around his waist, looked at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. Those dark circles were back, his eyes were swollen and puffy, and he was paler than usual. Scorpius finally tore his eyes away from the mirror; his reflection reminded him too much of his father.

Not wanting to cry in front of the other Slytherin guys, Scorpius hurried to get dressed then walked to the Great Hall alone. He didn't have an appetite today, but he really didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts; the noise from the Great Hall would hopefully be a welcomed distraction.

As he sat at the end of the Slytherin table among a few chatty fifth-years, Scorpius rested his chin on his hand, absently gazing nowhere around the room. In front of him sat an uneaten grapefruit, chocolate milk, and a blueberry muffin with one tiny bite out of it. He couldn't eat anything more or else he would be sick. Scorpius already felt nauseous.

As his red, swollen eyes wandered around the room, his eyes eventually landed on Albus. Albus looked so carefree, something Scorpius wished he could feel. Scorpius was still surprised that Albus had admitted to liking him. He never would have thought his crush would ever have developed feelings for him. But everything had worked out quite nicely yesterday. Just seeing Albus from across the room made him feel slightly better.

That was, until he looked to the left of Albus and saw Louis Weasley glaring at him. The guy was burning holes in his head. Scorpius wondered what the hell he had done to piss Weasley off so much. Not to be one-upped, Scorpius glared right back. Then he caught Albus glance at him and Scorpius' expression softened before looking away from the two Gryffindors, focusing on his food, instead.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Albus elbowed his cousin hard in the ribs. "Stop staring at Scorpius!" He hissed. "I thought you said you'd try to like him."

Louis, rubbing his slightly bruised ribs, tore his eyes away from Scorpius and focused them on Albus. "I know, but it's so hard!" Louis dramatically whined.

"He's not even doing anything," Albus pointedly said.

"Yes he is," Louis defended himself. "He exists. That's doing something."

Albus narrowed his eyes, clearly not happy with his cousin. "You promised, Louis! You aren't even trying!" His voice raised a little, which unfortunately reminded him of one of Lily's tantrums she used to have when he and James would pick on her. He didn't mean to sound like a child but Louis was starting to annoy him. He began to regret telling his friend everything last night.

"Fine, I'll try harder. But I'm not going to like him overnight, okay?" Louis muttered before taking a bite out of his eggs.

"That's all I ask - for you to try," Albus said, understanding that he would have to get Louis and Scorpius to cordially talk to one another. Turning his attention away from his cousin and focusing on Scorpius, Albus could see even from two tables away that something was wrong with his crush. For one, Scorpius looked pretty awful and forlorn. Two, it didn't seem like the Slytherin had taken one bite of his breakfast. Albus made a mental note to ask Scorpius what was wrong later, hoping it didn't have anything to do with him.

(

Albus, Rose, and Louis walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts together in the early afternoon. As they entered the room, Albus spotted Scorpius already seated near the middle. They had assigned seats and Albus sat in the back on the opposite side of the room from Scorpius. He wanted to talk to the Slytherin but didn't get a chance because Professor Harper arrived shortly after he had.

During the lecture of patronuses and how they work, Albus couldn't help but glance at Scorpius every few minutes. Scorpius still had the same somber look with his chin resting on his palm. Albus had a strong urge to give Scorpius a big hug and tell him everything would be fine.

After class ended, which was the last class of the day, Albus quickly left his friends to catch up with Scorpius who was walking out by himself. Pushing past a couple Slytherins, Albus found himself walking alongside Scorpius. "Hey," he said.

Scorpius looked to his left, surprised to see Albus talking to him in public. He didn't care if he were caught talking to Albus Potter; there was no one he had to impress, except maybe Albus himself. "Hi," he greeted back.

Biting his lip, and ignoring the burning look from his friends, he asked Scorpius, "Do you want to hang out for awhile?"

Part of Scorpius wanted to sleep because he hadn't gotten much, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, not with that nightmare still fresh in his mind. Hanging out with Albus would be nice and hopefully lift his spirits. He nodded and offered, "We could go outside."

Albus grinned, glad that Scorpius was willing to hang out with him. "That sounds great." So the two fifth-years made their way to the lawn. To avoid the crowd, they found a rather secluded spot a few yards away from the Forbidden Forest.

As they sat down against a huge Willow tree, facing each other, Albus studied Scorpius' face. The guy's pale blond hair was messier than usual, he had purple under-eye circles, and looked more gaunt than usual. Simply put, Scorpius didn't look too well, which was weird considering Scorpius had been in a great mood yesterday. Concerned, Albus asked, "Are you okay?"

Scorpius was taken aback by Albus' blunt and seemingly random question. No, of course he wasn't okay. Instead of saying this, however, Scorpius feigned a cheerful expression, giving a small, half-hearted smile as he quickly said, "I'm fine."

Albus saw right through Scorpius' façade. Instead of accepting the Slytherin's answer, he stared into Scorpius' sad silver eyes and placed his hand over Scorpius' hand, gently squeezing it. Sincerely, Albus asked, "How are you really?"

Scorpius glanced down at Albus' hand in his own. For some reason, Albus' words made Scorpius tear up. "Dammit," he muttered to himself, angry that he was crying yet again in front of Albus. He hated crying in public; it made him feel so weak.

Albus' eyebrows pinched together as he watched a few tears stream down Scorpius' cheek. Now he was really concerned. His green eyes full of sympathy, Albus softly said, "You can tell me, Scorpius."

Wiping his tears with his free hand, Scorpius glanced up at the sky to stop crying. When he felt he was in the clear, he brought his eyes back to Albus. For some reason, staring into Albus' emerald eyes made him feel safer. "I had a bad dream," he said, feeling childish. "About my Dad's funeral. And I saw Dad's lifeless body in the, um, casket and, um – " Scorpius' voice broke off in a crack and more tears came down as that image of his dead father lying in a coffin flooded his brain.

"Oh, Scorpius," Albus breathed. It must be awful for Scorpius to relive that memory. Dreams were supposed to be happy and weird, not full of pain. Letting go of Scorpius' hand, Albus scooted over and hugged him, rubbing his back. Scorpius stiffened at first when Albus hugged him; he wasn't used to physical affection. He and his parents had rarely hugged each other. But it was nice. He soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around Albus' neck, resting his head on the Gryffindor's shoulder.

As Albus hugged Scorpius, he wondered what to say. He knew from experience not to apologize to Scorpius. So, finally, he questioned, "Do you have these dreams often?"

Scorpius pulled back when Albus asked him a question. He nodded and said, "Yeah, I don't remember most of them though. But I almost always wake up, sweating, with my sheets tangled up or on the floor."

It struck Albus as odd that Scorpius would still have vivid nightmares almost two years after the tragedy. Curiously and as nicely as possible, he asked, "Do you think a healer could help you with your nightmare problem?"

Scorpius didn't take offense to the question. Honestly, he had thought about that himself, but he always figured the nightmares would go away on their own. Plus, he had too much pride to seek help or whatever. "I don't know, I guess I could look into it."

"It wouldn't hurt," Albus said, still worried about Scorpius.

Nodding, Scorpius was desperate for a subject change. He didn't want to talk about this stuff; it depressed him. Thinking back to this morning, Scorpius curiously asked, "Hey, why was Weasley shooting daggers at me with his eyes at breakfast?"

Albus sighed when he thought of Louis being so uncooperative. He would make damn sure his cousin gave Scorpius a chance. Louis' opinion meant a lot to Albus, and he wanted his friend to be okay with Scorpius. After all, their petty rivalry had pretty much washed away by now, yet Louis still held a grudge. He wondered if he should tell Scorpius he told someone about them. Albus almost lied, but decided it probably wasn't the best idea. Hoping that Scorpius would be okay with the fact that someone knew about them, Albus, fidgeting, finally said, "Erm, I kind of told him we kissed last night, and he wasn't too happy about it."

Scorpius wasn't upset that Albus told someone. He would have done the same had he had someone to tell. He guessed this meant he would see more of Louis now that he and Albus were involved. Scorpius wasn't too pleased about that fact. Taking his mind off of Louis and focusing on Albus, Scorpius knew just the thing which would lift his spirits. "You know, Albus, I don't think that kiss yesterday was nearly long enough," he said with a coy smile.

Albus grinned at Scorpius' statement, taking this to mean he wasn't mad. Albus also agreed that the kiss hadn't been long enough. He hadn't stopped thinking about the kiss since it happened, truthfully. Sliding closer to Scorpius, he tilted his head to the side and feigned an innocent expression as he questioned, "What ever shall we do about that?"

Scorpius playfully shrugged as he closed his eyes and leaned his head in toward Albus. Stopping just inches from Albus' pink lips, Scorpius waited for Albus to make the next move, which he willingly did. Albus, unable to take the suspense any longer, pressed his lips on Scorpius' full mouth. Scorpius smiled to himself as he breathed in Albus' scent. He smelled like burnt honey from his cologne and an undefinable smell that was exclusively Albus.

When Albus parted his lips, allowing access into his mouth, Scorpius immediately took advantage. He slipped his tongue in Albus' mouth, exploring, reveling in Albus' minty taste. Albus wrapped his tongue around Scorpius' own, the two tongues performing figure-eights around each other. Then Scorpius reigned his tongue back in and Albus slid his own in Scorpius' mouth, breathing deeply through his nose.

Meanwhile, Albus, eyes closed, and still kissing, positioned himself on top of Scorpius, wrapping his arms around the Slytherin's neck. Scorpius placed his hands on Albus' lower back and squeezed, causing Albus to gyrate his tongue faster with Scorpius' tongue. Then the two grinded against each other, stimulating both of their erections. Scorpius let out a small whimper as Albus' groin rubbed up against his own. He slid his hands down to squeeze Albus' ass, invoking a little moan from Albus. In response, Albus moved from Scorpius' lips to playfully nip at Scorpius' ear. Scorpius involuntarily shuddered as he brought his hands to cling Albus' soft black hair, giving Albus little love bites on his neck.

Finally, happily exhausted, Albus tore himself away from Scorpius' body and rolled over to lie in the grass, grinning. Scorpius gave a blissful sigh as he turned over to face Albus, smiling as well, taking in the Gryffindor's attractive features. He studied Albus' strong bone structure, his messy hair, and those enticing emerald eyes he always found himself staring at.

"Do you feel slightly better?" Albus asked, hopeful, feeling his tingly lips.

Scorpius genuinely smiled as he replied, "Yes, much. Thank you."

Albus let out a small laugh when Scorpius thanked him. "It was my pleasure," he said with a wink. Making out with Scorpius was ten times better than making out with Beth.

His day had been instantly brightened after their little makeout session. Scorpius hadn't experienced that much joy since, well, for as long as he could remember. "I'm serious, Albus. And thank you for listening," he said, a little uneasy about saying thanks. He never expressed gratitude, but he was glad he had Albus to talk to whenever he needed. Scorpius hadn't had a - dare he say it – _friend_ in quite some time.

Shocked and pleased by Scorpius thanking him, Albus gave a sincere smile and said, "You're welcome, Scorpius." His head still buzzed from making out with Scorpius. He didn't want this moment to end. But, as Albus glanced up at the sky for the first time, he noticed it would get dark soon. "We should probably head back."

Scorpius agreed. The two boys got up, adjusted their pants, and started walking back to Hogwarts. Once they walked inside, they faced each other. Albus didn't know if he should hug Scorpius, shake his hand, or what. Finally, he said, "I'll see you tomorrow. I had fun."

Nodding, Scorpius said, "Yeah, me too." Giving a small wave goodbye, Scorpius headed to the Dungeons, beaming brightly.

* * *

**I figured it was about time I gave you all a little saucy-ness. :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Reviews are always appreciated. I would love to know what you thought about the chapter! Loved it, hated it, left wanting more? Indulge me :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, this took longer than I had intended. Unfortunately, all of my professors felt the need to give tests before Thanksgiving break. Glad that's over! Speaking of, Happy (early) Thanksgiving for those of you who are American! And for those of you who aren't, I'll eat enough for all of us...and then obsessively work all the food off. xD By the way, who else besides me when to the midnight premiere of Deathly Hallows? Wasn't it fantastic? I cried, I laughed, and I squealed like a crazy fan girl. I'm seeing it again tomorrow! Woohoo! **

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The lovely JK Rowling does, and thank goodness for that!**

* * *

Chapter 8

"I'm sorry, I haven't been listening to a single thing you've said," Albus finally spoke, realizing that he was supposed to be studying for the upcoming Potions exam with Scorpius. Instead of studying, however, he had been daydreaming, gazing at Scorpius, not paying attention.

"Seriously?" Scorpius groaned, shaking his head in disbelief at Albus. "What have you been doing for the past thirty minutes then?" He asked the attractive brunette in front of him.

Albus had been admiring Scorpius' features. Not for the whole thirty minutes, though, because that would have been creepy; mostly, he just dazed off into space because studying for Potions was boring. Scorpius looked a lot better and more well-rested than yesterday. He hoped this meant the Slytherin didn't have any nightmares last night. Albus gave a small shrug and sheepishly said, "Sorry, but studying is so mundane. Can't we study some other time?"

Scorpius refrained from rolling his eyes. It amazed him how easily distracted Albus could get. "Albus, the exam is in two days. You want to do well again, don't you?"

Sighing, Albus slowly nodded, his nose wrinkled in distaste. He didn't feel like studying, or at least not with Scorpius. He didn't know why, but today he was nervous around the boy. He became more conscious about how he looked and what he said. He didn't want to look stupid around Scorpius. It was silly, Albus knew that. Throughout the whole time he had spent around Scorpius, he had never felt as nervous as he was feeling right now. Those damn butterflies in his stomach. As much as he hated the anxiety, the adrenaline rush and excitement he also felt invigorated Albus. He could jump from building to building and not injure himself with all this energy bundled up inside of him. This was partly why Albus couldn't sit still or study.

"I'll just study later. I can't concentrate right now," Albus said, dismissing the idea.

Scorpius couldn't help but grin at Albus, though the Gryffindor sometimes irritated him. "Fine, it's your grade," he said with a smirk, closing his books.

Albus smiled when Scorpius put the Potions books away. Maybe he would ask Rose for help later. "So," Albus said, leaning back against the chair, "Are you ready for the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match this weekend?"

Scorpius simply shrugged. He hadn't been to a Quidditch match in over a year. His father had always pushed him into Quidditch. While Scorpius liked the sport, playing - or even watching - Quidditch reminded him too much of his deceased father. "I wasn't really thinking of going, to be honest," he softly told Albus.

Forehead wrinkled, Albus asked, "Why not? Afraid that we'll cream you guys?"

Scorpius gave a small smile as he retorted, "No way, from what I can remember, Gryffindor was never better than Slytherin."

"That was when you were on the team. Now that you're off, we've been in the lead," Albus proudly stated. Then, his smile fading, he asked, "Have you not been to a single game this year?"

"No, I don't really find it appealing anymore," Scorpius casually said, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice. And anyway, he didn't want to be in the stands by himself like a loser. He wanted to be out there playing. But playing Quidditch still hurt too much.

Albus wondered if Scorpius didn't like the sport because of Draco. He thought it was awful to give up on something that used to make Scorpius happy. But, Albus didn't tell Scorpius that, feeling as though he would get upset. Instead, he hesitantly offered, "Well, you should go tomorrow, if only to support me."

Scorpius pondered Albus' offer. He didn't want to upset Albus by not attending, but what if watching Quidditch would bring up painful memories? Then, Scorpius thought back to when he rode around with Albus a month ago. Scorpius hadn't felt guilty or anything; in fact, he missed flying. With this in mind, Scorpius said, "Okay, I'll go. But I'll have to root for you in silence. The other Slytherins dislike me enough as it is."

Albus grinned, glad that Scorpius said yes. He tried not to think about the added pressure of impressing Scorpius. Instead, he thought of hopefully inspiring Scorpius to play again. Albus hoped that by Scorpius being on Slytherin's Quidditch team again, he would have more incentive to feel less guilty and depressed about his father's death. Albus was willing to risk Gryffindor's winning streak if it meant that Scorpius were happy again.

"So, since we aren't going to study anymore, I suggest we call it a night and head to dinner," Scorpius said, standing up, breaking Albus from his thoughts.

Albus nodded, smiling at the thought of dinner. After gathering all of his books, he got up from the table and gave Scorpius a quick hug and a peck on the lips.

Scorpius couldn't help but grin from Albus' quick kiss which warmed his body. The two boys then said their goodbyes and headed off in opposite directions.

(

That Saturday morning, Albus got up early and dressed in his Quidditch uniform. Then, he headed to eat breakfast with his team. As he and James entered the Great Hall, the two Potters trash-talked two Slytherin beaters then happily made their way to the Gryffindor table. He was in great spirits, chatting animatedly with his team. Unfortunately, as he scanned the Slytherin table, Albus saw that Scorpius was not present. Albus' face fell, hoping Scorpius' absence from breakfast didn't mean he'd be absent from the Quidditch match.

An hour before, Scorpius woke up in his bed, sweating and heavily breathing. He didn't remember this nightmare as vividly as the others, but the dream left him upset with tear-stained cheeks. He inwardly groaned as he laid back down on his bed in a foul mood before the day had even begun.

"Hey, you okay?" A voice suddenly spoke out. Scorpius kept his eyes closed for a couple seconds, wondering if this voice were talking to him or someone else. When no one responded, Scorpius opened his eyes and looked to his left. There, Scorpius saw Bryce Selwyn sitting on the bed next to his, looking at him with concern.

Scorpius had only spoken to the muscular brunette a few times. They were in the same grade, but Selwyn always ran with a different crowd. The Slytherin's family was full of death eaters just like his own, but unlike his father, Selwyn's father and grandfather still considered themselves dark wizards. Scorpius was thankful that his father hadn't raised him to believe purebloods were superior and Voldemort was to be honored. Though he didn't know Selwyn well, Scorpius assumed that's what Selwyn's father had done. So it was a surprise when the guy asked him if he were okay.

Briefly glancing at Selwyn, Scorpius gave a half-hearted shrug, fixing his sheets, as he mumbled, "Depends on your definition of 'okay.'"

"Well, I know we don't talk much, but this is the fourth time you've screamed in your sleep this month so I figured I'd, you know, ask if you were okay," Selwyn said a little uneasily, running his hand through his curly brown hair.

Scorpius winced and looked away from Selwyn as he sheepishly said, "I scream in my sleep? Shit, that's embarrassing." He wondered how often he did it and why no one had told him before now. Then, Scorpius made a mental note to perform silencing charms around his bed before going to sleep every night.

"Hey, it's cool man," Selwyn said, not wanting to make Scorpius feel uncomfortable. "We're all used to it by now."

Scorpius gave a small smile, thankful that Selwyn wasn't bitching him out for waking up everyone with his screams. "Oh, well thanks, I guess," he quietly, but sincerely, stated. He was angry with himself for letting the nightmares get to him like that, and Scorpius wondered if he should take Albus' advice and see someone about the recurring dreams.

Selwyn nodded, a sympathetic smile plastered upon his face. "We all have nightmares here and there." Giving Scorpius a meaningful look, he added, "Some more than others."

Humorlessly chuckling, Scorpius frowned and said, "My life would be a lot better if I didn't relive the past every fucking night."

"About your Dad?" Selwyn gently inquired. When Scorpius curtly nodded, Selwyn then said, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Scorpius replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the apology he hated to hear. If he had a galleon for every time someone said sorry to him about his deceased father, Scorpius would be rich – or richer than he already was, rather. After all, he and his parents had always lived off of Mum's inheritance. The Malfoys lost their pride, reputation, and money after the war.

"I know what you're going through, Malfoy," Selwyn said. Scorpius narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, Selwyn continued, "My Dad went to Azkaban when I was four. I don't even remember him."

Scorpius stopped himself from saying anything rude when Selwyn talked about his own father. Scorpius felt lucky to have known his father, however short of a time it felt. "What'd he do?" He asked.

Selwyn's eyebrows knitted together and he quietly explained, "He murdered a group of muggleborns. My Mum and I don't really talk to Dad's side of the family. It's bad enough I have the surname."

Scorpius' eyes widened as he realized that Selwyn wasn't at all what he had perceived the guy to be. "And here I thought you were an aspiring Death Eater," Scorpius said with a grin.

Winking, Selwyn remarked, "People aren't always what they seem." Before Scorpius could answer, Selwyn glanced at the clock and said, "Shit, we've missed breakfast."

Suddenly, Scorpius remembered he was supposed to watch Albus play Quidditch. "Hey, are you going to the match against Gryffindor?" He asked the brunette in front of him, turning away to take off his pajamas and put on his robes.

"I've got nothing better to do," Scorpius heard Selwyn say behind him.

"Cool, I'm going too. We should probably head to the field now." He was thankful he wouldn't have to sit by himself watching his former team play.

"If that's an invite for me to come with you, I accept," Selwyn said, smiling, after he got dressed, turning around just in time to see Scorpius pull his slacks up around his boxers.

(

After the Gryffindors received a pep talk, Albus headed to the field with his broom. He mounted his broom and flew in the air along with his team to warm-up. As Albus flew around the pitch, he tried to spot Scorpius in the stands. Finally, after his third lap around with his team, Albus spotted Scorpius sitting in the Slytherin stands. He smiled at the boy then turned his attention to Madame Pomfrey because the game was starting.

The quaffle was thrown in the air, signaling the beginning of the game, and Fred Weasley, a Gryffindor chaser, caught the quaffle. As Fred headed toward the goal posts, he tossed the quaffle to another Gryffindor chaser, nearly missing a bludger. The chaser threw the quaffle but the Slytherin keeper caught it and threw the ball to a nearby Slytherin chaser.

Albus flew up higher, keeping his eye on bludgers, the field, and the Slytherin seeker. He watched as chasers flew up and down the field, tossing the quaffle back and forth or getting hit by a beater. Finally, Gryffindor got their first goal and the score was 10-0. Two minutes later, Slytherin tied the game. Albus flew around the pitch, searching for a golden fleck. As he looked behind him, he heard James, a beater, shout, "Albus, watch out!"

Albus turned around and saw a bludger coming for him. He quickly dove, narrowly avoiding the ball hitting his arm. As he dove, he caught site of a golden glimmer near the Hufflepuff stands. Albus immediately shot toward the stands. Getting closer, he recognized the tiny glimmer as the snitch.

Smiling to himself, Albus chased the snitch throughout the field. Suddenly, he heard someone behind him. The Slytherin seeker, Thomas Flint, a seventh-year, had caught up to him. Albus rammed himself into the seeker, trying to knock the Slytherin off his broom. Then the Slytherin seeker rammed himself into Albus. Weaving in and out, trying to avoid being hit by flying objects, the two seekers chased after the snitch like their lives depended on it.

As the score reached 70-60, Gryffindor's lead, Albus sped up, determined to catch the snitch. Flint followed just behind Albus. He elbowed Albus in the side, almost making Albus fall. But the Gryffindor kept his balance and caught up with Flint. The snitch went higher in the air and so did the two seekers. Now the score was 80-90 with Slytherin in the lead. Albus body checked Flint then sped up faster. He was now within touching distance of the snitch. Positioning his body to balance on the broom with one arm, he reached with his other arm for the snitch. Sensing that Flint was once again closing in on him, Albus kept speeding up. Finally, his two fingers touched the snitch. Stretching farther, he finally grasped the snitch in his palm.

The announcer yelled, "Albus Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!" Albus broke out in a huge grin. Albus flew down to the bottom of the field, reveling in the erupted cheers from the Gryffindor stands. He received pats on the back from his teammates. "You guys did great, too," he said back, still grinning. Then, he let his eyes wander to the Slytherin stands and spotted Scorpius smiling at him, mouthing the words, "Good job." Albus' grin grew wider.

"Hey, there's Mum and Dad. Let's go say hi," James said to him.

Albus turned his attention away from Scorpius and focused on his older brother. "Okay," he responded, making his way toward the other side of the field with James.

Walking down from the Slytherin stands with Selwyn, Scorpius stepped onto the field and spotted Albus hugging his father, who looked like an older version of Albus with glasses. If Scorpius remembered correctly, Albus had told him he wore contacts. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. For a moment, Scorpius became angry that his own father wasn't here to congratulate him after winning a Qudditch match, but he caught himself in time before his anger flooded through the rest of his body. He had just gotten out of his bad mood, after all.

Joined by Louis, James, Fred, and Rose; Albus said goodbye to his father and began to walk in the direction of the castle. Scorpius told Selwyn goodbye then rather irrationally followed after the Potter-Weasley clan. Scorpius hadn't thought of the implications from congratulating Albus with some of his family present. In fact, ever since he and Albus hung out more, Scorpius forgot about the bad blood between the Malfoys and the Potters and Weasleys. So, though it should have been no surprise, Scorpius was momentarily taken aback when he caught up to them and Louis, James, and Fred all glared at him with wary, dumbfounded eyes.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" James sneered.

"Come to kiss our arse because we beat Slytherin?" Fred taunted.

Scorpius struggled at first to give a passable excuse as to why he approached them because it was clear they obviously didn't know about his and Albus being friends, let alone their liking each other. He was mentally kicking himself for stupidly trying to talk to Albus in public. Finally finding his words, Scorpius narrowed his eyes and curtly stated, "I have to talk to him about Potions."

Albus glared at his brother and cousin, sharply saying, "Stop being pricks." Then he turned to Scorpius, grabbed his arm, and pulled him off to the side away from his family. "Sorry about them," Albus apologized, clearly embarrassed.

"Come on, Al. We have to celebrate in the commons," Louis said, obviously opposed to Albus talking to Scorpius. He still had a hard time accepting his best friend liked his self-declared nemesis.

Scorpius shrugged at Albus and gave a small smile. "Congrats. It was a good game," he sincerely told Albus.

Ignoring Louis, Albus breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, glad to know he impressed Scorpius. After all, the Slytherin used to be the best seeker in their year. "How did I do?" He asked.

Before Scorpius could answer, James called out, "Albus, stop talking to the Voldemort-worshipper. He's going to turn you into a Death Eater."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. He really hated that arrogant prick. It was a wonder how James and Albus were related. Albus, however, was more upset than annoyed. He whipped around and, scowling, said, "Shut up, James! Leave Scorpius alone!"

James' eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you seriously defending this loser?" He incredulously asked his little brother.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at James, offended by the term, "loser." He may not have been intimidating anymore, but he was far from being a loser. He was also not one for standing around, letting other people insult him as they pleased. "Why don't you make yourself useful and suck your tiny dick, Potter?" He tartly retorted.

Taking a step closer to Scorpius, speaking before thinking, James shot back, "Why don't you sulk in your room about your dead father? Or better yet, get over yourself and stop being a fucking attention whore."

"James!" Rose and Albus both shouted, appalled that he would say something so insensitive.

The anger boiled in his veins and Scorpius could no longer contain it. He roughly shoved James and gave one swift punch to the elder Potter's face. Immediately, Fred and Louis shoved Scorpius back.

Before the fight got any worse, Albus stepped in between his cousins and Scorpius. He placed his hand on Scorpius' chest. "Scorpius, don't," he whispered.

Scorpius was breathing hard as tears stung the rims of his eyes. He blinked them away and put on an aloof, stoney expression. Then, Scorpius, hurt and angry, briskly ran away in the opposite direction.

"Scorpius!" Albus called after the Slytherin, frowning. He was shocked at what had just occurred.

"You're such an arse, James!" Rose haughtily said before stalking away, upset at her cousin's immaturity.

Standing up, rubbing the offended cheek, James glared at his brother as he shouted, "What the hell, Albus? What's wrong with you?"

Albus glared right back at his brother, angry. "What's wrong with me? What about you?" He shot back. "You had no right to say that! Get off your high horse and stop acting like such a prick!" Then he ran after Rose, wanting to get away from his brother and his two cousins. He was so ashamed at how they acted in front of Scorpius. Talking about Scorpius' deceased father was too far and he couldn't believe James had stooped that low. He wondered if he should find Scorpius and try to apologize, but was afraid Scorpius wouldn't want to talk to him after what had happened. Talk about a great day being ruined in a matter of minutes.

* * *

**So, there you go! I gave a little angst and drama in this chapter. Drama is fun when it doesn't concern me, baha. And don't worry, I didn't put Selwyn in there as a filler. He has a part to play in this story...but whether it's for better or worse is for you to guess and find out! Anyway, drop me a review and I'll give you a slice of whatever pie your heart desires. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay, another chapter! Thanks to the few who reviewed. Reviews motivate me to write more. Anyway, fair warning, there is some cursing in this chapter. However, they are teenagers and let's be honest, teenagers cuss. So, I hope it's not a huge problem for anyone...I just thought I would let you all know ahead of time. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the rich and famous J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 9

"Rose, wait up!" Albus called out to his cousin as she entered through the Gryffindor portrait hole. He followed her in, continuing to call out her name. Rose whipped around and huffed, her arms crossed. "Why must they be so bloody immature?" She harshly asked.

Albus sighed, wishing he knew the answer to that question. He was still fuming from James and Fred verbally attacking Scorpius for no damn reason. He didn't understand how they could harbor so much dislike for the Slytherin when Scorpius hadn't taunted them in years. Honestly, they were acting like girls for holding grudges that long. It made Albus all the more wary of telling his family he liked Scorpius. He was sure he wouldn't get a positive reaction. "I don't know," Albus said, letting out another sigh as he sat on an empty couch. "They need to get over themselves, though."

Sitting down next to him, Rose turned and patted her cousin's hand. She gave him a small smile and said, "It was nice of you to defend Scorpius."

Albus shrugged. Of course he defended Scorpius. Scorpius was his friend; it's what friends did. But, sometimes he forgot his family didn't know that fact. "James was wrong to say what he said. That whole fight shouldn't have even happened."

Rose nodded in agreement. She loved her cousins to death, but some of them could be so thick sometimes. Studying Albus' contemplative expression, Rose thought back to how Albus looked and smiled at Scorpius. A small grin forming upon her lips, Rose thought out loud, "It's curious."

Albus turned to glance at Rose, his eyebrows furrowed, wondering what she was going on about. "What is?" He asked, intrigued.

She wondered how to ask the question without sounding too nosy or presumptuous. Forming the right words, Rose decided to go for the direct, blunt approach. "Well, it's rather odd that he came to congratulate you after Quidditch. I mean, I know you and Scorpius spend quite a bit of time together because he's your tutor, but, well I was only wondering if there's something _more_ going on between you two."

Albus frowned at his cousin, knowing exactly what she was insinuating. "We're friends, Rose. Is that such a crime?" He questioned, an eyebrow suspiciously raised.

"Well, no, I was only – " Rose was suddenly cut off by James and Fred noisily barging in through the door with Louis silently following behind.

"Albus, where the hell are you?" James angrily called out. A group of fourth-years gave him an annoyed, bewildered look which caused James to glare at them. "What?" He snapped.

"Must you insist on always being obnoxious, James?" Albus asked his brother, standing up to face him.

"What's gotten into you, Al? I thought you hated Malfoy!" Fred said, still bewildered.

"I've never hated Malfoy!" Albus exasperatedly exclaimed. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he ran his fingers through his hair and explained, "Look, Scorpius is a nice guy. Just give him a chance."

"Whatever," James said, rolling his eyes. "All I know is that I'm going to have a huge bruise on my face thanks to that prat. I can't believe you would defend him over your own family!" Then he and Fred stalked off to the dormitories.

Albus sat back down next to Rose and frowned. Glancing at her, she just sympathetically shook her head and gave a little shrug. Louis tentatively walked next to Albus and Rose and sat down at their feet, facing them.

"I appreciate the help, Louis," Albus crossly said, looking down at his friend.

"Don't get mad at me! I didn't do anything wrong!" Louis protested, dramatically throwing his hands up in the air.

"That's the problem!" Albus said, raising his voice. "You didn't do anything!"

Louis narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "What was I supposed to do?" He slowly said as if Albus were hard of hearing. "Just because you're chummy with him doesn't mean I have to be." He stood up, ready to leave this conversation, not wanting to fight with his best friend over Malfoy.

Albus stood up as well, pointing his chin upward to look into Louis' eyes since his cousin was a few inches taller than he. His patience was wearing thin for his family (or most of them, anyway) and Albus struggled to keep his voice under control. He didn't want to make a scene, after all. "You're supposed to be supportive because that's what friends are. I don't care if you don't like him, but I do and you should try to support that."

Trying to follow the conversation, and failing for the most part, Rose quickly became confused. Stepping in, Rose asked, "Wait, am I missing something?"

Louis didn't want to talk about this anymore. He was upset with Albus for not seeing his point of view. He didn't like Malfoy. He wouldn't be fazed if Malfoy were to disappear forever, as awful as that sounded. So, Louis didn't understand why he had to try to be nice to the guy. He'd let Albus do whatever the guy pleased, but Louis would rather be left out of it. Fed up with this argument, Louis let out an exasperated sigh and briskly walked to the dormitories.

Albus watched Louis leave then turned to Rose. He motioned her to go to a more secluded place with him where there weren't any eavesdroppers. Moving to a corner, Albus leaned against the wall and stared at Rose for a few moments, formulating his words. Finally, he quietly said, "I, er, I mean, Scorpius and I kissed. And we like each other."

Rose's eyes widened and a huge grin spread across her face. Giddily, she whispered, "Seriously? That is so adorable!"

Albus tilted his head in confusion, shocked by her reaction. He hadn't expected 'adorable.' "Um, thanks?" He said, not quite sure how to respond.

Rose blushed, still grinning. She said, "Sorry, it's just Scorpius is _so_ hot and, well, if I can't have him then I'm glad you do. That way, I can live vicariously through you!"

Albus couldn't help but chuckle. This was why he loved his cousin, Rose. She may be a prude sometimes, but she also had spunk and knew how to make him feel better. "Well, I don't exactly _have_ him. Maybe someday, I don't know. The rest of our family might not be as excited as you."

Rose's wide grin formed into a sympathetic smile and she took Albus' hand and gently squeezed. "Don't worry, they'll come around."

"I hope so," Albus muttered. Then he gave a smile back and hugged Rose. He could always count on her. "Thanks, Rosie."

"Anytime," she lightly said, rubbing circles in his back with her fingers. "And whenever you want to give details about your makeout sessions or what have you, I will always lend a listening ear."

Albus chuckled again and replied, "Okay, I'll think about it."

(

The next day, Albus, prompted by Rose, ended up telling Lily about him and Scorpius. Practically squealing in delight, she also found them to be adorable together. Albus figured it must be a girl thing. However, they were rather disappointed Albus had told Louis before them, therefore causing them to lose the bet. But, if he had known what everyone's reactions would be, Albus wouldn't have told Louis in the first place.

Albus walked into the Great Hall for lunch with Rose and Lily, sitting in between them while Louis, Fred, and James sat five seats away. He sighed, still annoyed from how immature they were acting. The three hadn't so much as glanced at Albus, let alone talk to him. This was the first time he was actually fighting with them and it was for such a stupid reason. Potters and Weasleys were so stubborn that they could take days, sometimes weeks, to admit they were in the wrong and forgive each other. So, Albus had no choice but to wait until the three got over themselves and gave Scorpius the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, that could take forever.

"Are you going to hang out with Scorpius today?" Lily asked Albus, breaking him from his thoughts.

Albus glanced to his left at his auburn-haired sister and sighed. Shrugging, he softly said, "I don't know. He might not even want to talk to me after what happened yesterday."

"But it wasn't your fault," Rose reasoned. She patted Albus' back and suggested, "You should talk to him."

"Now?" Albus asked her. He didn't know when he'd get a chance to talk to Scorpius if he didn't try at lunch. But he was hesitant of going over to the Slytherin table.

Rose gave a one-shoulder shrug and airily said, "Why not! It's not like he's going to shun you."

Albus thought it over then nodded. He had to make sure Scorpius was okay and not upset at him or his dumb-ass brother. "Yeah, okay. I will." He got up from the table and began to walk toward the Slytherin table, ignoring the pointed looks he was probably getting from Fred, Louis, and James.

As he stood behind some Slytherin and looked at Scorpius from across the table, Albus worried Scorpius might not want anyone to know he was chummy with a Potter. Hesitantly, Albus greeted the boy. "Hey, Scorpius."

Scorpius, who was in conversation with Selwyn, looked up at the sound of his name, surprised to see Potter standing there. "Hi. Er, what are you doing?"

Albus took a deep breath then asked, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Scorpius was a little taken aback by Albus' question. After what happened yesterday, Scorpius was surprised Albus wasn't ashamed of being seen with him, a Malfoy. But, he was thankful this wasn't the case. Politely, Scorpius waved his hand to the seat in front of him and said, "Sure, sit down."

A small smile forming upon Albus' lips, he said, "Excuse me," to two people in front him so that he could sit down. The two people reluctantly made room, but not without giving him weird looks. In fact, most of the Slytherin table was now watching him and Scorpius with bewildered eyes.

As Albus sat down across from Scorpius, Selwyn turned to Scorpius. "Not that it's any of my business, Malfoy, but why is Potter talking to you?" He asked, eyeing Albus suspiciously.

"You're right, it's not your business," Scorpius curtly stated without thinking. Taking note of Selwyn's sudden change in expression, Scorpius frowned. He didn't want to treat Selwyn the same way he had treated Warrington and Zabini, as if he were their superior. Scorpius surprisingly enjoyed Selwyn's company and he didn't want to lose that; the guy was becoming his only friend in Slytherin. Softening his expression, Scorpius quickly added, "I tutor him in Potions."

Albus furrowed his eyebrows, feeling both curious and slightly hurt. He was a little offended that Scorpius didn't say he and Albus were friends. _Then again, I probably deserved that,_ Albus reasoned. He hadn't done that either yesterday. Although, if James and Fred didn't know about Scorpius and his friendship before, they probably knew it now. As for Selwyn and Scorpius suddenly being quite chatty with one another, that part made Albus curious. To Albus, Selwyn had always seemed like the bad boy of Hogwarts, someone people didn't dare mess with. After all, his father had murdered muggle-borns many years ago. Albus didn't know Scorpius was chummy with Selwyn, but he decided not to dwell on it.

"Right, well, sorry to intrude," Albus uncharacteristically mumbled, not sure of what else to say. He figured Scorpius was still angry so Albus thought it best to leave him be for awhile.

Before Albus could stand up, however, Scorpius said in a rushed voice, "Wait! Do you want to hang out later today on the grounds?" He carefully ignored Selwyn's watching, suspicious eyes.

Albus smiled, trying not to show the excitement in his face. Maybe this meant Scorpius had forgiven him. "Same time?"

Scorpius nodded and briefly grinned before changing his face to an aloof expression. He turned back to Selwyn to finish their conversation which Albus took as his cue to leave.

(

Around four, Albus headed to the lawn in his and Scorpius' secluded spot. Luckily, the spot was empty except for one Slytherin, waiting rather impatiently against a rock. As Albus reached Scorpius, he said, "Sorry I'm late. Rose and Lily are incessant chatters." The two girls went on and on about Scorpius and wanted to know every detail once Albus got back. Girls could be so annoying sometimes.

"It's fine," Scorpius said in his quiet voice, "You're here now."

Albus sat next to Scorpius and put his arm around the fifth-year's shoulders. Scorpius allowed himself to relax in Albus' arm and leaned his head against the Gryffindor's shoulder. Normally, he wasn't a touchy-feely person, but Albus' touches felt nice and safe, as though he couldn't get hurt when Albus was around.

Albus smiled to himself and softly placed his head against Scorpius' own. They stayed like this in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Albus felt he had to apologize. Softly, Albus said, "I'm sorry about yesterday, Scorpius. James was way out of line. I didn't know he would react like that."

"Your brother's a douchebag," Scorpius roughly said. For almost two years, Scorpius hadn't given so much as a thought toward the Potter-Weasley family, with the exception of Albus. He had been too busy dealing with his grief to engage in bantering with them. There were more important things than fueling the bad blood between their history together. Scorpius would have thought by now James would have stopped acting like a pussy and gotten over his "hatred" for the Malfoys. Apparently, he was wrong.

Albus frowned into Scorpius' platinum-blond hair. "Try living with him for fifteen years." James had always been a prat, but really his brother was just protective. James took the Potter surname very seriously, wanting to emulate their father. Albus had grown used to it, but it still didn't excuse the fact that James had been a prick for calling Scorpius an attention whore. When Scorpius didn't say anything, he continued, "He and I aren't on very good terms right now. He'll come around eventually, though."

Scorpius turned around to face Albus and placed his arms on the back of Al's neck. Staring into emerald eyes, he said, "I don't care about your brother and if he comes around or not. I only care about you." He didn't mean to say the last bit, but he didn't waver in his expression, hoping that it wouldn't seem like a big deal. However, Albus was flattered that Scorpius cared about him and he couldn't help but beam with pride. Noticing Albus' flushed cheeks, Scorpius quickly added in a non-Malfoy manner, "I mean, I'm just, you know, strangely comfortable with you. Don't take it to heart or anything."

Albus, still smiling, nodded and planted a kiss on Scorpius' light pink lips. Pulling away, he sincerely murmured, "I care about you, too."

Scorpius tried to resist a growing smile, but to no avail. He also tried to squash the mushy feelings that flowed throughout his veins. Kissing Albus back, he said, his lips still on Albus' lips, "Well, now that we've got that covered…" Scorpius trailed off and kissed Albus again.

Albus wrapped his arms around Scorpius' waist and parted his lips as he reveled in Scorpius' taste. Scorpius's tongue lightly licked Albus' lips, silently asking for passage to the inside of the Gryffindor's mouth. Albus allowed it and parted his lips further. Scorpius brought his tongue further into Albus' mouth and both tongues danced around each other.

All of a sudden, an exaggerated clearing of the throat was heard. Albus opened his eyes at the sound and saw Louis standing three feet from them, his arms crossed as he looked down at the pair. Albus broke away from Scorpius and said in a bewildered voice, "Louis, what are you doing here?"

Scowling, mostly at Scorpius, Louis answered, "Looking for you. I didn't know you'd be with _him_, though."

"Be nice," Albus snapped as Scorpius dryly said, "Oh look, it's my second favorite person." Albus shot Scorpius a look then turned back to Louis. "Do you need something?" He impatiently asked, still upset with Louis. He was also upset that his cousin interrupted him and Scorpius when it was just getting to the good part.

His scowl still in place, Louis uneasily said, "I just wanted, to, er, apologize. I don't want to stay mad at you anymore."

Albus stood up to face Louis. Frowning, he incredulously questioned, "What the hell are you mad at me for?"

Louis's eyes darted from Scorpius to Albus as he uncomfortably said, "You know why."

Scorpius stood up as well and smirked. He haughtily assumed, "It's about me, isn't it?" When Louis silently glared at him, he added, "Too bad because I'm not going anywhere."

Taking a step toward Scorpius, Louis dramatically and menacingly said, "I'm not talking to you, Malfoy. Leave us the hell alone, cocky arse."

Scorpius had had enough with the insults. He was in no mood to get in a fight, but knocking Weasley out suddenly didn't seem like a bad idea. Peeved, he shot back, "Look in the mirror, you son of a bitch."

Eyes widening with anger, Louis immediately took out his wand and pointed it at Scorpius. Not a second longer did Scorpius pull out his own wand.

"That's enough!" Albus shouted at both of them, stepping in between Louis and Scorpius. "Why can't you two get along?"

Lowering his wand, but still holding it in his hand for safe measure, Louis turned to Albus and said, "I've tried to be nice to him, Albus, but I can't."

"The hell you've tried!" Scorpius shouted at Louis.

Trying hard to ignore Scorpius, Louis defiantly proclaimed, "It's either me or him."

Albus was ready to rip his hair out. He didn't like people fighting, especially when it was his friends fighting. And now Louis was giving him an ultimatum! "Louis, I am not choosing you or Scorpius. You're being ridiculous!"

"You've changed, Albus! Ever since you started hanging out with this arsehole," Louis harshly said. "So you're either friends with me or with him."

"What are you, five?" Scorpius asked in disbelief, his eyes narrowed. Was Louis really giving Albus an ultimatum? Weasley was more obnoxious and immature than he thought.

"I'm not doing this," Albus declared. "I'm not letting you give me a fucking ultimatum. I like Scorpius. We're friends. Deal with it, Louis."

Well, that clearly wasn't the answer Louis was searching for. He knew he was being ridiculous, but to him it seemed as though Albus preferred Scorpius over him. So, he stated, "Fine. I see how it is." Then, he stalked away with his head held high.

"Merlin, what the hell is wrong with him?" Albus said to himself, groaning, once Louis was out of earshot. He was certain that Louis would be angry with him for a long time until he groveled for Louis to be his friend again. But, that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't in the wrong, here. Why Louis was so against his being friends with Scorpius was beyond him; it must be the veela blood and anger Louis had genetically acquired that overshadowed his rational thinking.

"Your family is crazy," Scorpius said, still in shock of what had happened. He felt bad for Albus. It was obvious that Albus thrived on positive energy from his friends and family; that was probably why the Potter was always so happy and hyper.

"You have no idea," Albus said, letting out a sigh. He didn't know what he would do with his best friend being mad at him. Albus figured he would now be spending a lot more time with Rose and Lily. _Oh, joy_, he sarcastically thought to himself. "Come on, it's getting dark. We should probably head back."

Scorpius nodded in agreement as he noticed the sun starting to go down. Gently squeezing Al's bicep, he awkwardly, but genuinely, said, "You still have to me to keep you sane."

Albus glanced at Scorpius and gave a grin as they headed back to Hogwarts. "Thank you," he said.

Scorpius gave a small shrug. Once the two reached the castle, they reluctantly headed back to their own dormitories.

* * *

**So who else is angry with Louis? He can be so dramatic sometimes! Anyway, next chapter they will be getting ready to leave for Christmas break. Woo!**

**Anyone who reviews will get a slice of yummy chocolate birthday ice cream cake! I'm turning 19 tomorrow! Yay! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry, finals had to take precedence! Then I needed a few days to recuperate, hah. Anyway, this chapter is up now. It consists of mostly dialogue which is all fine and dandy...I just hope it flows well. But, I like the chapter well enough. I'm excited about the next couple of chapters...they're about Christmas break! :) And that means aloooone time. These two haven't made out enough, in my opinion. xD tehe. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The rich and famous J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 10

_Dear Mum,_

_I have not heard from you in awhile so I hope you're doing well. School has been fine. I've been studying hard for my final exams. I miss you, Mum, and I am looking forward to seeing you next week for Christmas break. I am still coming home, aren't I?_

_With love,_

_Scorpius_

Scorpius hurried to write his letter so that it would arrive at his house on time and his mother could write a reply. He tied the letter to his owl's leg and sent her outside. Then, he walked down the steps and headed to the grounds. The last Hogsmeade trip for the semester was today and he didn't want to be late. Scorpius and Albus were planning on spending the trip together. Since that day on the lawn, the two boys hadn't gotten to see each other much because they were too busy studying for exams.

As he walked outside in the crisp air, pulling his black pea coat tightly around him, Scorpius spotted Albus and walked toward the Gryffindor. "Hey," he greeted Albus with a grin.

Albus' face lit up when he saw Scorpius. "Hey," he breathed, returning the grin. Catching Rose and Lily's gleaming eyes, Albus sighed as he hurriedly said in a low voice, "I know this trip was supposed to be just you and me, but Rose and Lily kept bugging me about coming with us. I would have turned them down, but my friend count seems to be dropping by the day." Albus bit his lip and gave a sheepish smile as he said, "I'm sorry."

Scorpius frowned, confused as to why Rose and Lily would want to spend time with _him_. In all the years he'd known them, Scorpius had barely spoken three words to them. "Why do they want to hang out with us?"

Albus let out a deep sigh and replied, "Trust me, it's better if you don't know." Those two drove him up a wall with all of their gushing over him and Scorpius. He and the Slytherin seemed to have their own fan club and they weren't even together yet! Truthfully, Albus didn't exactly know what he and Scorpius were, but he hoped they'd become a something soon. But, pushing that thought out of his mind for the moment, Albus gave a subtle nod to his sister and cousin then turned back to Scorpius.

Now Scorpius frowned, a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to some alone time with Albus, but that apparently wasn't going to happen today. Scorpius just hoped Rose and Lily wouldn't interrogate him about Albus, though he figured that was precisely what they were going to do.

As Rose and Lily bounded toward them, the two girls gave Scorpius a huge smile. "Thanks for letting us come with you," Rose said to Scorpius.

"Anyway, we figured we could help you guys with your Christmas shopping!" Lily said, staring at Scorpius with hopeful eyes.

Scorpius uneasily turned away from Rose and Lily as the four began to walk with the rest of the crowd. Meanwhile, Albus gave a pointed look toward his sister as he, unable to keep the groan out of his voice, complained, "Why are we going Christmas shopping? I thought you'd buy a present for Mum and Dad and I'd pay you back."

Lily elbowed her brother in the ribs and joked, "I figured you'd like shopping now!" She gave him a wink and a silly smile.

Albus just narrowed his eyes and huffed, "Alright, let's not get stereotypical, Lil."

As Scorpius watched the exchange between Albus and his sister, a thought dawned on him. He leaned in closer to Albus and whispered, "Do they know?"

Albus made a face and solemnly nodded. "Unfortunately," he responded.

Scorpius glanced at the two girls and gave them both a quick smile. Turning away from them, he let out a sigh. This would be a long day.

(

After going into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop (and waiting in a long line for Rose to buy a set of quills) and Zonko's Joke Shop (where they waited for 15 minutes for Lily to decide what to get James), the boys were already tired of shopping. However, the girls still wanted to go to more shops.

"We'll go to Gladrags then get some butterbeers, okay?" Rose coaxed Albus and Scorpius.

"What about Honeydukes?" Albus questioned, clearly craving some chocolate. If he had to walk around Hogsmeade all day and wait in lines, he deserved chocolate.

Scorpius snickered, having an idea of what he would get Albus for Christmas. Lily, on the other hand, huffed. Her brother was almost as bad as Hugo when it came to food. "We're on a mission, Albus," Lily dramatically informed him.

"What mission?" Albus asked, ruffling his little sister's hair. "It's only shopping."

Rose and Lily exchanged knowing looks, as if saying the boys just didn't understand. Scorpius and Albus, meanwhile, rolled their eyes at each other.

Finally, Scorpius spoke, "I want to get my Mum a silk scarf for Christmas so you two can help me pick one out." Rose and Lily had been asking him about Christmas presents all day, and he figured this would make them happy. Besides, maybe he would get a little alone time with Albus now.

The two girls grinned and Rose defiantly said, "It's settled then." Glancing at Albus, she added, "We'll go to Honeydukes later. We still have a couple hours left."

Albus sighed, but obeyed his cousin. The girls had annoyed him all day. But, at least they had stopped gushing over Scorpius. He followed them into Gladrags as Rose and Lily chatted to Scorpius about what kind of scarf to get his Mum.

Stepping into the small shop, Scorpius pointed to his right and said, "You two look over there. Albus and I will look in the back."

Rose and Lily nodded and went looking for silk scarves as Scorpius and Albus made their way alone to the back, for which Albus was grateful.

"There aren't any scarves here," Albus observed as he looked around them, seeing only ties and men shirts.

Scorpius glanced around him and shrugged. "That's too bad. Guess the girls are on their own."

Albus broke out in a grin, glad to finally be alone with Scorpius, even if it were in a shop filled with people. As he aimlessly flipped through racks of dress shirts, he softly said to Scorpius, "I hope you're not mad I told them. But it was just them and Louis, I promise."

Scorpius turned to Albus, inches away from his face. Shrugging, he said, "Don't worry about it. I don't really care if people know about us or not." He didn't have anyone to impress. That ship was sailed a long time ago.

Albus breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. And, sorry about Rose and Lily."

Scorpius wondered why Albus was feeling so apologetic all of a sudden. Despite not having Albus all to himself, he was actually having a nice time. Usually alone, it was nice to spend time with three other people. "I don't mind them. They're a little high-strung, but I like them well enough."

His eyebrows raised, Albus was surprised to hear that Scorpius said he liked his cousin and his sister. He liked them just fine too, but in doses. Ever since Louis started ignoring him, he'd spent the majority of his time with Rose and Lily. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Oh, that reminds me, would you like to visit sometime over break?"

Scorpius smiled as he imagined sipping hot cocoa and kissing by the fire with Albus. His insides warmed at the thought. And then his thoughts were interrupted by thoughts of James and Louis' faces. Frowning, Scorpius dryly said, "I'd probably scare your family if I arrived on your doorstep."

Albus grinned in spite of himself, but then shook his head. "No, my parents know we're friends."

Nodding, Scorpius relaxed. "Sure, I'd like that." It would definitely be a welcome break from spending time alone in his large, dreary house.

"Great," Albus breathed, trying to contain his excitement. As he flipped through more clothing, his eyes landed on a putrid yellow-green, bedazzled dress shirt. He lifted the shirt up to him and turned to Scorpius. "Hey, how attractive would I look in this shirt?"

Scorpius let out a guffaw, then quickly covered his mouth. "That's horrendous!" He exclaimed.

Albus looked down at the shirt and grinned. "It doesn't bring out my eyes?" He joked.

Smiling, Scorpius teased, "I think that should be your Christmas sweater. It seems like something you'd wear."

Pretending to be offended, Albus put the shirt back on the rack and huffed, "Are you implying I have no fashion sense?"

"That's exactly what I'm implying," Scorpius said, his arms crossed and a smirk firmly in place.

"I never knew you were such a fashion guru," Albus sarcastically stated.

Scorpius got closer to where their foreheads barely brushed up against each other. "Well, I _am_ gay," he said, amused.

Albus broke out in a silly grin as he repeated the same words he had said to Lily earlier in the day. "Let's not be stereotypical."

His hot breath on Scorpius' face drove Scorpius wild. Scorpius suddenly didn't care if they were in a public place; he wanted to kiss Albus now. From the look on Albus' face, Albus was thinking the same thing. Scorpius leaned in closer and before he closed his eyes, he saw out of the corner of one eye someone staring at them. Doing a double take, Scorpius noticed Rose and Lily watching them with silly looks on their faces. Scorpius immediately broke away and cleared his throat.

Albus' eyes fluttered as he wondered why Scorpius wasn't kissing him right now. Then he saw his cousin and his sister. Albus held in a groan, silently cursing the bad timing.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rose sheepishly said, "Er, we found your Mum a scarf." She held out a shiny, forest green scarf with an embroidered silver snake at the bottom.

Scorpius took the scarf from Rose and smiled. "Thank you. She'll love this," he said as he examined the handiwork. Then, the four went to the counter so that he could buy the scarf. After he paid, they headed down the street for the Three Broomsticks.

Once at the café, the four sat at a booth and each ordered a butterbeer. Scorpius brushed his leg against Albus' leg, causing the Gryffindor to flush. Scorpius grinned, thoroughly enjoying making Albus blush.

Not to be outdone, Albus discreetly placed his hand on the inside of Scorpius' thigh and squeezed. Scorpius squirmed in his seat as he tried to control the emotions on his face. He caught a quick glance of Albus out of the corner of his eye and grinned to himself while placing his hand on top of Albus' own. Albus affectionately squeezed Scorpius' hand, struggling to avoid the Slytherin's gaze. After all, the girls were across the table, and he didn't want them to act weirder than they already had today.

Unfortunately for Albus, the girls noticed the little, nonverbal exchange between the two boys. Rose rested her chin on her hand as she breathed, "You two are cute together."

Those words settling in his mind, Scorpius took his hand from Albus' grip and placed it on the table. "Er, huh?" He uncharacteristically mumbled.

Grimacing, Rose wondered if she had over-stepped her bounds. She didn't exactly know if they were together or not or if it were supposed to be a secret. "Sorry," she hurried, "I hope I didn't offend you. You shouldn't be ashamed, though."

Scorpius frowned as he quickly said, "I'm not ashamed!" He ran his fingers through his hair and added, "I just, er, I didn't expect you to say that." He gave Rose a quick smile to let her know he wasn't upset. Then a realization dawned on him. "Wait a minute," Scorpius slowly said, "is that why you two have had those looks all day?"

"Looks?" Lily asked, confused. She turned to her brother for answers, but Albus shrugged. He shook his head, knowing exactly what Scorpius meant.

"The 'I've-seen-the-cutest-puppy-in-the-world' look," Scorpius explained.

"Oh, well, er," Rose mumbled unintelligibly, her face flushing a bright crimson. She took a giant gulp of her butterbeer to avoid saying anything more. Rose didn't know she had had that look, but it was certainly what she had been thinking all day.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily innocently stated, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, _right_," Albus sarcastically said with an amused smile. "You two only wanted to come along so you could stare at us – or rather, him."

Just then, a figure appeared at the end of their table. Startled, all four looked up and saw Selwyn standing there. Scorpius nodded at his fellow Slytherin and greeted the guy.

"Hey, who knew you were such a Weasley-Potter lover," Selwyn joked, smirking.

Scorpius sheepishly smiled, not knowing how to respond. Fortunately, he didn't have to because Selwyn said, "You three don't mind if I steal Scorpius for a moment? It'll just be a second."

Rose and Lily shook their heads, a bewildered look present upon both of their faces while Albus shrugged and took a sip of his butterbeer. Scorpius followed Selwyn to a nearby table full of Selwyn's friends.

"You know Nott and Rowle," Selwyn said pointing to a dark brunette and beefy blond. Then he pointed to two more guys as he continued, "this is Alaric Monroe and Isaiah Pince. They're a year older than us."

Scorpius nodded at them and let out a small, "Hey."

"So are you fucking that Weasley girl?" Rowle asked Scorpius, wagging his eyebrows. "She's hot," he added. Selwyn and Monroe nodded in agreement.

Scorpius' eyes widened in complete disbelief at what he had just heard and he cleared his throat, an uncomfortable feeling washing over him.

"But she's a pain in the arse," Nott chimed in.

"Er, she's not that bad," Scorpius finally said, awkwardly shifting from side to side. When Rowle wagged his eyebrows again, Scorpius quickly stated, "But no, I'm not."

"It better not be Potter. She's like thirteen," Monroe inquired.

"Hey, if they put out, age doesn't matter," Rowle shot back with a smirk.

"Woah, Rowle, quit being a creep. Stop drilling the kid, mate," Pince said. Scorpius guessed Pince was the ring leader of this group. Scorpius gave him a quick, thankful smile, which he returned. Then Pince held out a flask and offered, "Want some firewhiskey?"

Scorpius shook his head no and replied, "Nah, I'm good right now."

"Suit yourself," Pince said, pouring some in his butterbeer then passing the flask around the table.

"Hey," Selwyn said, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder, "you should hang out with us over break."

Scorpius didn't exactly want to get involved with this group. They were the "bad boys" of Hogwarts and that wasn't a reputation he wanted to have. He already had a bad reputation for just having Malfoy as his surname; Scorpius didn't want to make things worse. But then again, he enjoyed Selwyn's company and he had been wrong about Selwyn; maybe these guys weren't as dark as people believed them to be, either. So, he shrugged and said, "Sure, sounds good."

Selwyn grinned, saying, "Great, I'll owl you when we're all getting together."

Scorpius nodded then glanced behind his shoulder. Albus, Lily, and Rose were all staring at him expectantly. He turned back around and stated, "I should get back. Er, see ya later." Then he deliberately made his way back to the table.

As he sat down, Albus immediately questioned, "What was that all about?"

Sighing, Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair as he said, "That was probably the weirdest encounter I have ever had."

"What did you guys talk about?" Lily curiously asked.

"Er, nothing worth mentioning," Scorpius said, putting on a smile.

Rose quickly glanced at the Slytherins then focused her eyes on Scorpius. Concerned, she informed him, "Those guys are bad news, Scorpius."

"Selwyn's alright. I don't know the rest of them that well, but I'm sure what you've heard about them are just rumors," Scorpius defended.

Rose looked as if she were about to say something, but Albus cut in, "We should probably go so we aren't late."

Nodding, Rose agreed and kept the rest of her thoughts to herself. She, Lily, Albus, and Scorpius got out of the booth and headed out of the Three Broomsticks. As they walked, Albus silently fell in step with Scorpius. It was unusual for Albus to be so quiet, and Scorpius couldn't not notice the silence.

"You okay?" He asked Albus as they fell behind the girls.

Albus gave a quick nod and a smile. "Of course," he said. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him, prodding the fifth-year. Albus was silent for another minute until he lightly said, "You and Selwyn seem close."

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows at Albus' seemingly random statement. "Is that a problem?" He slowly and defensively asked.

"No, no," Albus hastily answered, not wanting to upset Scorpius. "I just never would have expected you two to be friends." He wasn't sure why, but there was something about Selwyn that he didn't trust. But maybe he just didn't know the guy well enough.

"He's not a bad guy, Albus. You of all people should know not to judge a book by its cover," Scorpius said, trying to keep his voice even.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Albus asked, his arms crossed against his chest.

Scorpius couldn't help but smile at Albus. His frustration was adorable. "Well, _we're_ friends, aren't we?"

Albus softened his expression and uncrossed his arms, a smile breaking out across his face. "You're right. But, I'd say we're a little more than friends," he said, winking.

Scorpius chuckled and softly said more to himself than to Albus, "Yeah, I suppose we are."

Suddenly, Rose, who was a few meters ahead of them, turned around and called out, "Come on, slowpokes!"

Albus and Scorpius grinned at each other and shook their heads, then ran to catch up with Rose and Lily.

Overall, this day was surprisingly really nice, all things considered.

* * *

**So, tell me what you thought of it in a nice review. Annd I'll give pumpkin pie to those who review, but yucky fruitcake to those who don't. Unless you like fruitcake. Hey, no judgement here! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed - L.A.H.H, RobinNicole, GundamPilot03, Aline Daryen, Call me Mad AKA Ninja Fish, MorbidMandy, Glisterer, and DarkestAngel13. Reviews are the best way to let me know that people are reading this story...they motivate me to continue.**

**Anyway, this was sort of a filler chapter. It's not my favorite, but I like it well enough.**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the legendary J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Hey, are you sitting with me and the guys on the train?"

Scorpius momentarily stopped packing and turned around to face Selwyn. He frowned and said, "Sorry, I already promised Albus I'd sit with him."

Selwyn sat on his trunk and gave Scorpius a thoughtful look. "You two seem close."

Scorpius held back a smile, but it amused him how those were the same words Albus had said about Selwyn and him the other day. He leaned against his half empty trunk and shrugged. "Guess spending every week together in the library studying Potions does that." _And being completely attracted to him helps,_ Scorpius charmingly thought, preferring to keep that bit of information to himself.

"Never thought a Malfoy would entertain himself with Potters and Weasleys," Selwyn said, eyebrows raised in both amusement and bewilderment.

Scorpius' smile faded as he pointedly said, "The majority of them seem to be exactly what you'd expect – annoying gits." He knew he shouldn't group Louis and James as the majority because maybe more Weasleys weren't as foul, but Scorpius didn't think Selwyn would care.

Selwyn seemed unconvinced. "Personally, I could say the same about all of them," he remarked.

Scorpius turned his back to Selwyn to finish packing. "No, Albus is different." As he finished putting his cloaks and schoolbooks in his trunk, he faced Selwyn again. "You should sit with us. He wouldn't mind," Scorpius offered.

Selwyn considered the possibility, but then declined. "I think my friends would wonder why I was sitting with a Potter. They wouldn't let me live it down," he said, grinning.

Shutting his trunk and standing up, Scorpius said, "It's really freeing not being afraid of what people think." He gathered his things and gave a nod goodbye to his friend. "Have a good break." Then he headed out of the boys' dormitories and made his way to the Hogwarts Express.

(

Scorpius walked in an empty compartment with Albus, followed by Rose and Lily. Once they shut the door, not expecting anyone else to sit with them, Rose and Lily immediately started talking about Christmas break and what presents they might get. As the two chatted amongst themselves, Scorpius turned to Albus and asked, "How do you think you did on the Potions exam?"

Albus considered his answer carefully before finally responding, "It definitely wasn't easy, but I'm pretty sure I passed."

Scorpius beamed with pride, saying, "Then I've done my job."

"You were a good teacher, maybe even better than Pucey himself," Albus stated.

Scorpius chuckled. "You only think that because he doesn't like you."

Shrugging, Albus casually said, "True, but you could have a future in teaching."

Scorpius wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, I wouldn't have the patience for it, especially for the first-years."

Albus laughed and joked, "You could become an Auror like me. We could be the dynamic duo, fighting crime together."

"You make Aurors sound so glamorous," Scorpius dryly stated, amused at the image. Then, a thoughtful look upon his face, he added, "But I have considered being one. I'd like to make criminals and murderers pay for what they've done." He tensed up at the word, 'murderers,' instantly thinking of Ezekiel Byrnes.

Albus' smile disappeared from his face, having an idea of what Scorpius was thinking. He stared into silver eyes and sincerely said, "I think you would make an excellent Auror."

"Thank you," Scorpius said as he smiled at Albus, warmth flooding his body.

Just then, the compartment door swung open and Hugo Weasley burst inside, quickly shutting the door behind him. All four bodies turned to the boy, alarmed. Rose was the first to speak. "Hugo, what on earth are you doing?" She demanded.

Panting, Hugo sat next to Lily and took a couple moments to catch his breath before answering his sister. "I'm hiding from Fred and James. They threatened to turn Nile into a goblet if I didn't leave them alone."

Rose rolled her eyes and huffed. "Why are you in here? Go sit with Artie and Brennan."

"They're watching Nile for me. Nile and I can't be together, that would be too easy!" Hugo exclaimed, looking at his sister as if she were stupid.

Confused to what was going on, Scorpius asked, "Who's Nile?"

Hugo glanced at Scorpius, noticing for the first time that he was here. "Woah, why are you guys hanging out with Malfoy?"

Scorpius gritted his teeth, struggling to keep calm. If one more person criticized him for his surname, he was going to start throwing punches. Fortunately, Rose got mad for him. "Hugo, don't act like a prat. Now, leave us alone." Turning to Scorpius, she said in a nicer tone, "Nile is his gross lizard."

Hugo turned to his sister and gave her a pitiful look. "Please, can't I stay for awhile? Fred and James scare me!"

At this, Albus laughed aloud. "Don't worry, we'll protect you, even if that means socking my brother." He glanced at Scorpius and winked. Scorpius returned the grin, not at all opposed to the idea.

"Fine, but don't pester us or else I'm telling them where Nile is," Rose instructed. Hugo furiously nodded, promising not to bother them.

Then Rose turned to Scorpius and asked, "So are you going to the New Year's party?"

"The what?" Scorpius asked, confused.

"It's a party Mum and Dad throw every year on New Year's Eve," Lily said.

"It's not like we don't see each other every week on break, though," Hugo chimed in. Albus nodded in agreement. His family was notorious for spending every free moment together. Sometimes, especially in the summer, it got annoying.

Albus turned to Scorpius and said, "It depends when you come, but it'd be nice if you were there."

Scorpius considered this for a moment before saying, "I'll have to talk to my mum about visiting at all. I don't know if I should leave her alone on break."

"Your mum's alone most of the year. What's one more week?" Hugo tactlessly said. Immediately after his words left his mouth, Lily hit him in the arm and called out, "Hugo!"

"Out!" Rose shouted at her brother, pointing toward the door.

Suddenly, it dawned on him the meaning of what he had said. "_Ohh_, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," he sheepishly said.

"Don't worry about it," Scorpius said, shrugging. He knew Hugo didn't mean any offense.

Ignoring Hugo's incompetence, Albus faced Scorpius and placed his hand on the Slytherin's shoulder. "It's okay if you can't visit," he said.

"I'll try to come," Scorpius replied. He really didn't want to be alone with his mum for the whole break. Seeing Albus for a week or so would be the perfect excuse to get away.

As soon as things winded down and the conversation switched to Quidditch, the door swung open again. This time, Louis Weasley walked in and opened his mouth to yell at Hugo until he spotted Scorpius. "Great, _he's_ here," Louis sneered, glaring at the Slytherin.

"I have a name," Scorpius pointedly remarked.

"What do you want, Louis?" Albus asked, all patience for his cousin gone.

Deciding to ignore both Albus and Scorpius, Louis turned his back on them and gave an annoyed look to Hugo. "Your dimwit friends let Nile loose on the train. I'd go find him before Fred and James or the trolley lady do."

Hugo groaned and immediately rushed out of the compartment, calling out his lizard's name. Rose and Lily simultaneously rolled their eyes at Hugo. When Louis didn't move, Rose cleared her throat and stated, "If you're not going to join us, you should leave."

Louis hardened his expression, stuck his nose in the air, and sniffed. "Why would I want to join you guys?" He scoffed. Then he turned around and stalked out of the compartment.

Albus leaned his head back against his seat and loudly groaned. "Why is he being such a prick? Christmas is going to suck." Albus wasn't sure he could endure Christmas with Louis without exploding if his former friend were going to act like that. And adding James to the equation wouldn't make the break any better.

"He'll come around," Lily optimistically said, "He just has to get to know Scorpius first."

Scorpius frowned, hating that he broke Albus and Louis' friendship. He wholeheartedly disliked Louis, but he also didn't like seeing Albus upset. If being cordial to Louis meant that Albus would have his friend back, Scorpius was willing to make that sacrifice, no matter how much it would pain him.

(

Finally, the train pulled to a stop onto Platform 9 ¾. Scorpius grabbed his things and gave a quick hug to Albus. "I'll owl you what my parents say," Albus said as they headed out the compartment and began walking off the train. Scorpius nodded and waved goodbye as Albus, Rose, and Lily walked over to the huge Potter-Weasley group. Scorpius stared at Albus for a few more seconds before making his way through the crowd, seeking out his mother.

After ten minutes of searching, Scorpius eventually gave up and sat down on his trunk. It usually never took him this long to find her. He wondered if his mum were in the bathroom or if she had simply not come at all. He decided to wait another ten minutes before leaving without her.

The next ten minutes slowly ticked past. By now, the station was pretty much empty. Sighing, Scorpius put his trunk and his owl cage on an empty cart and proceeded through the brick wall. He had no idea how he would get home. The fear of being alone quickly enveloped him and he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. Scorpius collapsed to the floor and began hyperventilating. He tried to calm himself down, but his hysterics grew worse. He couldn't breathe or think straight. He broke out into sweats and tears stained his cheeks.

Then he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, inhale and slowly let it out," a soothing voice said.

Panicked, Scorpius turned around and to his surprise saw Professor Longbottom smiling at him. He did as instructed and began to calm down. Knowing a professor was there helped lessen his panic attack, as well. Once he found his breath, Scorpius quietly said, "Thank you." He wasn't close to Professor Longbottom nor did he care much for Herbology, but he was grateful the man was here.

Helping Scorpius to his feet, Longbottom asked, "Where's your mother, Scorpius?"

Reddening from embarrassment of his mum's absence, he mumbled, "She probably thought I wasn't coming." Actually, she had probably forgotten, but the first statement was much less humiliating.

"Grab your things. I'll apparate you to your house," Longbottom said.

Sighing, Scorpius had no choice but to oblige. He grabbed his trunk and owl cage and took his Herbology professor's hand. He soon twisted and turned in the air, suffocating, for a few split seconds before he landed rather ungracefully on the ground beside his house. Standing, he turned and said, "Thank you," for the second time today to Professor Longbottom.

"Have a good break, Scorpius," Longbottom said, smiling at his pupil. Then, he disappeared.

Scorpius rolled his trunk while carrying the cage in his other hand to the front door. He turned the knob, but the door was locked. Now, Scorpius was really getting pissed off. He loudly knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He banged on the door much louder this time. Finally, the door opened.

Scorpius saw Dremus, his favorite house elf, in the doorway. "Master Scorpius, you're here! Dremus was worried Scorpius wouldn't make it home, sir. Dremus told Mistress Astoria she needed to get out of bed to pick you up, but she wouldn't listen, sir."

"It's okay, Dremus. I'm here now," he said, cutting the house elf off, otherwise Dremus would talk his ear off. He grew up with Dremus and when he was eleven, his father left Dremus to be his. They had another house elf, Eyllis, who cooked every meal for them. Dremus did the cleaning. As he walked inside and set his things down, he said, "Could you take my stuff to my room? I need to talk to Mum."

Before Scorpius could take another step, Dremus stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Dremus doesn't think that's a very good idea, sir. Mistress Astoria wants not to be disturbed, sir. Mistress Astoria has not been feeling well. She stays in bed all day and all night, and she barely eats, sir."

Scorpius bit his lip, worried about his mother's poor health. But at this point, he didn't care if she were passed out; he needed to see her. "Step aside, Dremus. I have to speak with her," he sternly instructed.

Dremus bowed his head and obeyed Scorpius, then proceeded to take Scorpius' things to his room. Scorpius bounded up the stairs and walked into the master bedroom. His mother was lying on the bed, eyes closed. Scorpius instantly spotted empty bottles of firewhiskey on the end table. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook her awake.

After a few shakes, Astoria groggily opened her eyes and sat up. "You forgot to pick me up at the train station," Scorpius softly said, no hint of anger in his voice yet.

It took her awhile to focus her eyes on her son. She had a pounding headache which immediately brought her into a sour mood. Remembering that this was actually the day Scorpius came back from school, Astoria felt like a terrible person. She covered her face with her right hand, a gesture she always did when embarrassed, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought you were coming home tomorrow."

Scorpius frowned, getting up from the bed and crossing his arms. "Dremus tells me you haven't been eating," he flatly stated.

Astoria rubbed her temples and lied back down on the bed. "I'm not in the mood to do this with you, Scorpius. Get settled and I'll see you at dinner." Then she closed her eyes again.

But Scorpius didn't budge. He couldn't stand seeing his mother in such a pitiful state. "Have you even gone to work?" He questioned, his eyes narrowed in silver slits.

"I've been sick all week," Astoria mumbled into her pillow.

"Go to St. Mungos then," Scorpius instructed, "But this better not be about Dad." He regretted the words as soon as they spilled out of his mouth.

Astoria shot up and glared at her son. "Excuse me?" She bitingly asked him, her voice sharp.

Scorpius loved his mother and he understood that she was still grieving. But he couldn't understand how she could shrivel up and waste away without Dad here. Then, Scorpius thought back to a few months ago. He had been doing the same thing. It was weird to think that he used to be a ghost of himself before Albus came. He was still depressed and grieved, but Scorpius didn't focus on his deceased father as much anymore. Scorpius faced his mother, hesitant to continue. In a gentle voice, he finally said, "It's been two years, Mum. You can't keep living like this."

Astoria slowly got up and stumbled over to her son. In a shaky voice, she said, "How can you say that? He's not here!"

"You're right, he isn't," Scorpius bluntly stated. Sadness washed over him as he said those words, but he had to stay strong for his mum. It wouldn't do any good if they were both broken down and crying. He continued, "That's why you have to get some fresh air or at the very least get out of this room."

Astoria contorted her face in an expression of pain and anger as she icily said, "You act like you don't even care he's gone."

Scorpius almost exploded after that statement. _That's right, I don't care. Having nightmares every fucking night about Dad means I don't care. Losing friends and everything I used to be because he died means I don't care. _Scorpius sarcastically and bitterly thought to himself. "I've already lost Dad, I don't want to lose you too," he quietly said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible.

Tears stung Astoria's eyes. Her head was pounding so hard, everything became fuzzy and she couldn't think clearly. "Get out," she bitingly declared.

Scorpius stared at his mum in bewilderment for a few seconds. But the look on her face was apparent that she didn't want to speak to him anymore. He watched as she slowly got back in her bed before he stalked out of the room. Once he closed the door, he heard her call out for Eyllis.

"Eyllis, bring me another bottle of firewhiskey," Astoria demanded once the house elf arrived.

Eyllis looked down at her feet as she objected, "But, Mistress Astoria -"

Astoria cut the house elf off and she raised her voice, glaring, as she demanded once more, "Another bottle of firewhiskey."

Eyllis bowed low and obeyed her mistress's wish.

Outside the door, Scorpius leaned his head against the wall and sighed, closing his eyes. Dremus came to him and said, "Dremus told Master Scorpius that Mistress Astoria was not to be bothered, sir. She is not well, sir."

Scorpius' eyes flew open and he briskly walked to his own room, slamming the door behind him. Furious and upset, he flopped down on his bed. Break had barely begun and he already wished he were back at school.

* * *

**So, tell me what you think! Love it, hate it? I love reviews...doesn't everyone? They make me update faster! tehe.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry this is so late; I feel awful! I had this almost finished weeks ago, but then my computer died and wiped out all my files, and I lacked the motivation to re-type everything. But it's finally up now, thank goodness! So please forgive me and I hope you guys are still with this story, a month later. I promise updates will be a lot more frequent from now on. It was just one of those things...sigh.**

**I'm also sorry that the exchange between Scorpius and Longbottom last chapter was rushed. I know that. I might go back and edit it later, but for now I'm just going to leave it as is.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's a longer one, so that's good haha. Annd thanks to all those that reviewed; much appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the incredibly talented J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Albus had been home for a little more than a day and he already missed Scorpius. He missed going to Scorpius to talk about stuff he couldn't tell his parents. He also really missed kissing the Slytherin. They hadn't so much as kissed in two weeks! With exams and constantly being interrupted by people, it had been nearly impossible. All of this added up to bring Albus in a sour mood, and his parents couldn't help noticing his normally cheery self seemed down in the dumps.

One night after dinner, where Albus and James incessantly argued with each other, Harry asked his youngest son to his study for a chat.

Settling into the oversized black leather chair, Albus immediately said, "Why am I in trouble? James started it!"

"Is that why you've been so grumpy? Because of James?" Harry gently asked his son, sitting in the chair behind his desk that faced Albus.

Albus sank into the chair and let out a sigh, shrugging. He and James usually fought quite a bit, but it still frustrated him that James and Louis were angry because of Scorpius.

When Albus remained silent, Harry prodded him more. "Is there something else going on?"

Slowly nodding, Albus mumbled, "Louis isn't speaking to me anymore."

Harry frowned at his son's response. He knew his nephew to be really overdramatic at times, but Albus and Louis always made up a few days later. "What happened?" He curiously asked, wondering how long the two had been fighting.

"I'm friends with Scorpius," Albus bluntly and bitterly said.

"Oh!" Harry let out an exclamation of surprise. "Scorpius _Malfoy_?" He asked, not at all expecting his son to say that.

"He's not a bad guy, Dad," Albus exasperatedly said, tired of always having to explain this to seemingly everyone.

"No, of course, I believe you," Harry quickly replied. "I just remember you complaining about him a few years ago."

Albus downcast his eyes and focused on the floor. "Things changed," he softly said.

Harry nodded and gently smiled in understanding. "Well, I'm sure Louis will come around soon. Maybe he feels threatened that Scorpius might replace him."

Louis was very important to Albus. He liked Louis and Scorpius for different reasons, and Louis knew that. Albus hated how stubborn and melodramatic his cousin was. But he didn't want to think about that anymore. Bringing his eyes to his Dad's, Albus figured this was good a time as any to invite Scorpius.

"I guess I should get them to hang out more," Albus said. Then, leaning forward and smiling widely, he asked, "I was actually wondering if Scorpius could come over here for maybe a week?"

Harry sat back in his chair, a thoughtful look upon his face. "James might not like that," he joked.

"I don't really care what James thinks," Albus firmly stated. "Scorpius needs this after all he's been through." He gave his Dad another innocent and pleading smile for good measure.

Figuring there would be no harm in letting the boy stay over, Harry finally said, "I don't mind, but you'll have to ask your mum."

Albus breathed a sigh of relief and smiled big. _Convincing Mum will be a piece a cake,_ he thought to himself. "Thanks, Dad!" He exclaimed, getting out of his chair and giving Harry a big hug. Then he said good night and headed out of the room to look for his mum.

(

Scorpius received Albus' letter two days later. Hastily opening it, Scorpius grinned with delight when he read he could visit. Now all he had to do was convince his mother to let him go.

He waited until dinner to ask her. Thankfully, with force and pleading, Scorpius had been able to get his mum to eat more this past week. As the two sat down at the too-grand table, waiting for their food to be served, Scorpius turned to his mum and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Astoria rubbed her temples as she passively replied, "Fine."

Scorpius frowned and intently stared at the dinner table. Once Dremus and Eyllis set the table with food, he spoke up again. "It snowed today." He didn't know what else to say. He and his mother hadn't held a conversation since the first night he came home when she forgot to pick him up at the train station. He glanced up at his mum, but she was too preoccupied with pouring herself a glass of firewhiskey to respond.

So, he tried again. "Remember when you and Dad used to take me sledding on the mountains and we ran into giants?" He smiled at the memory. "I told Dad to fight them off, but he said he learned the hard way that creatures are more afraid of us than we are of them."

"Scorpius, please," Astoria weakly said, "I'm not in the mood for this."

Scorpius fell silent, his smile quickly vanishing. He was tired of tip-toeing around the house when it came to Dad, as if not talking about the memories meant he would come back after a very long vacation. Throughout dinner, the two remained quiet, as they always did every dinner. Scorpius was going to explode if things continued like this. He was bored and frustrated, which put him in a terrible mood.

Finally, when the house elves were clearing their plates and Astoria was about to leave the table, Scorpius said, "Wait." Astoria curiously turned to his son and sat back down. "May I go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I need to buy a present for my friend."

"That's fine," Astoria answered.

"You can come too, Mum," he added.

Astoria sighed and slowly shook her head no. "I can't. I'm too tired."

"Right, because sleeping all day takes so much out of you," Scorpius sardonically stated, his eyes narrowed.

"Do not use that tone of voice with me," Astoria sternly scolded as she reached for the half-empty bottle of firewhiskey.

"Mum, you can't stay in this house forever. You need to go out or get a job," Scorpius instructed.

Astoria took a long swig of alcohol as she feebly countered, her words slurred, "I do go out."

Scorpius struggled not to become frustrated. This was a difficult task because all he wanted to do was shatter something out of anger. Seeing as his mum was growing more intoxicated, he realized he might not get another chance tonight to ask if he could visit Albus. In a gentler voice, he asked, "Albus Potter invited me to stay a week. May I go?"

Astoria brought her eyes up to her son's, confused with what he had just said. "Excuse me?" She asked, "Did you just say Albus _Potter_?"

Scorpius nodded, saying, "We're friends. It's a long story. So, may I go the day after Christmas?"

"Hold on, what about Isaac and Eric?" Astoria asked.

"We haven't spoken at all this year," Scorpius replied. _And if you paid attention more, you would know that, _he bitterly thought to himself.

"Oh. Well, I need you here instead," Astoria said, finishing off the firewhiskey bottle.

Scorpius' eyes widened in irritation at her response. "But, you don't even talk to me! I'm so bored, Mum; I can't stay here another two weeks!" He said, his voice raising.

"Whenever I do talk, you only scold me. You always scold me, Scorpius! Maybe if you were a little more sympathetic," Astoria incoherently mumbled.

Scorpius stood up from the dinner table and exasperatedly asked, "What do you want me to do? I'm trying to move on with my life so I'm not so damn depressed all the time, but being here with you is miserable!" He was too mad to regret the words that had just left his mouth.

Astoria stood up as well, clearly upset. Tears brimming her cheeks, she sharply stated, "Do whatever you want, Scorpius. I don't care." Then she stumbled upstairs and into her room.

Scorpius' lip quivered as he struggled to keep calm. He slowly made his way into his own room and decided to have an early bedtime.

The next day, Scorpius had Dremus apparate him to Diagon Alley. Once his house elf disapparated, leaving Scorpius alone on a rather crowded street, Scorpius began feeling a little overwhelmed. He didn't even know where to begin looking for a present for Albus, or what the Gryffindor would want. But, he figured Quality Quidditch Supplies would be a start.

As he walked down the long cobble-stoned pavement, Scorpius heard someone calling his name. He turned around and saw Selwyn and an older-looking woman, whom Scorpius presumed to be Selwyn's mum, right outside Magical Menagerie.

Scorpius walked over to the pair and greeted them, "Hey Sel – er, Bryce." He turned to the woman and said, "You must be Mrs. Selwyn."

"Please, call me Aria. The last time I saw you, you were just a baby," Aria said, shaking Scorpius' hand.

"Er, pardon?" Scorpius asked, confused. He didn't remember ever meeting her before. Scorpius glanced at Selwyn, but he shrugged, confused as well.

"Your father and I used to work together many years ago," she clarified.

"Oh, I didn't know that," Scorpius remarked.

"He worked in an Apothecary too?" Selwyn asked his mum.

"No, not quite," Aria cryptically answered. Then, changing the subject, she questioned, "How is Astoria? I haven't seen her around town for quite some time."

"She hasn't been feeling well, lately," Scorpius said, biting his lip. He wondered how good of friends Aria and his mother were. If he couldn't get Mum to go out, maybe he could bring people to her. "You should visit her sometime, if you get the chance."

Aria pondered the offer for a bit, then smiled and nodded. "I might do that. It would be nice to catch up."

Scorpius grinned at her, hopeful that if Mum had her friends visit, she might get out of this self-destructive funk.

Aria turned to her son and said, "I'll let you hang out with Scorpius. Meet you here in one hour."

"Okay, Mum," Selwyn answered her. Once she left, he turned to Scorpius and said, "Weird how she knows your parents."

Scorpius nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, it's crazy how secretive adults are." He immediately thought back to the night of his father's death and that package Byrnes wanted so badly.

"Maybe we'll understand someday," Selwyn said, grinning. Then he asked, "So how's break?"

"Incredibly boring," Scorpius said, glad for the subject change.

"That sucks," Selwyn said, "But you should come over, mate. Me and the guys are never boring."

"Yeah, maybe soon," Scorpius softly stated.

"I'm actually meeting them now if you want to come," Selwyn offered.

Scorpius politely declined. "I have to get a present for Albus."

"We'll help you look for one," Selwyn said. So, not wanting to be rude, Scorpius decided to hang out with Selwyn and his gang for awhile. But, as they made their way down Knockturn Alley, Scorpius began to regret his decision. He almost said they shouldn't be here, but Scorpius didn't want to seem like a pansy, so he kept quiet.

As the two Slytherins reached Borgin & Burkes, they met up with Nott, Rowle, Monroe, and Pince.

"Look who I ran into!" Selwyn called out, referring to Scorpius.

"Hey, we were wondering if you'd show your face around here," Monroe said, greeting Scorpius.

Scorpius nodded hello at them, then asked, "So what are you guys doing at Borgin & Burkes?"

"Just hanging out. No one ever goes down here anymore," Pince said.

Scorpius looked around him, noticing the street was empty except for a few wizards in dark clothing. He pulled his gray wool coat tighter around him, a strange feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach. This street gave him the creeps. But, he followed the other Slytherins in the shabby store anyway.

Once inside the store, Rowle and Pince immediately headed toward the front. Scorpius lingered near the back with Selwyn.

"Think Albus would want anything from here?" Selwyn joked, grinning.

"Probably not," Scorpius said with a smile. He walked over to a table by the window with many dusty items sitting atop it. Selwyn, who had followed him, fingered some of the items, but most of them were junk.

"I'm throwing a party the day after New Year's. You should come. There'll be booze and girls," Selwyn said, grinning at Scorpius.

"Oh, well in that case, count me in!" Scorpius joked.

"Alright, I'll put you on the list," Selwyn said, beaming. He clearly didn't understand that alcohol and getting with girls were two things Scorpius could care less about. Still, Scorpius figured he should attend his friend's party to be polite.

When Nott called Selwyn over, Scorpius turned his attention back to the items on the table. His eyes immediately caught sight of something shiny. Scorpius reached for the shiny object and held it in his hand. It was a silver chain necklace with emerald gems that formed a snake on one side and a ruby and gold lion in the center. Scorpius touched the lion with his forefinger and the emerald gems began moving around the chain toward the lion. Scorpius smiled as he thought, _Albus might like this. Guess this store isn't all bad._ Once the snake reached the lion, it intertwined itself around the lion and squeezed until the ruby and gold gems exploded, leaving behind smoke that read: _Gryffindors Suck_. Scorpius dropped the necklace in shock, eyes wide at what he had just witnessed. _Maybe I shouldn't get this for Albus after all,_ he thought, putting the necklace back on the table and quickly moving away.

Scorpius hurried over to the rest of the group. "Where's Pince?" He asked.

"Probably arguing with the shopkeeper about something," Nott said. "We're about to head out. Alaric and I still need to get our girlfriends a present."

"I should get going, too," Scorpius said, having had enough of this place.

"Rowle, Selwyn, stay here till Pince gets back. We'll meet up with you guys later," Monroe stated.

Scorpius said his goodbyes then left with Monroe and Nott. "I'll catch you guys later. I'm heading in the other direction," he said. After the two boys nodded goodbye, Scorpius began walking toward Quality Quidditch Supplies, but stopped once he passed the new chocolate shop that opened a few years ago. Looking in the window of the shop, Scorpius smiled as he finally knew what to get Albus.

(

At last, after what seemed like forever, Scorpius would get to see Albus today. Over the past week, his mother had softened to his spending a week at the Potter house. Of course, she had also been drinking more; Scorpius figured it was because of the holidays. Just in case, he told Dremus to take her to St. Mungos if the drinking got any worse.

But he wasn't going to spend his time thinking about his mum. He had spent almost two weeks thinking about her and her well-being. All Scorpius could focus on was spending a whole week with Albus. His bags packed, Scorpius waited downstairs for Mum to get out of the shower so she could take him. Twenty minutes later, she finally came downstairs.

"Are you sure you don't want Dremus to take you?" Astoria asked as she reached the foot of the steps.

Dremus' eyes widened at the possibility of seeing the famous Harry Potter. Scorpius avoided Dremus' joyful expression and stared at Mum instead. "You said you'd take me. Besides, don't you want to make sure I'm safe over there?"

"Of course I do, but that whole neighborhood is swarming with Aurors. I'm sure you will be plenty safe," Astoria reasoned with him. But, seeing her son's face fall, Astoria quickly added, "It's okay, I suppose I do need to get out of this house. Are you ready to go then?"

Scorpius smiled, pleased that his mother would go. Nodding, he grabbed his bags and the two Malfoys made their way outside. Holding onto his mum's arm, they disapparated and appeared on the Potter's lawn moments later. Then they made their way on the porch and knocked on the door.

Not a minute later, the door burst open and Albus enveloped Scorpius in a big embrace. "Finally!" Albus exclaimed.

Stumbling backward from the weight, Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus and grinned. "Someone's excited," he remarked, chuckling.

"Albus, you forgot your coat!" A woman's voice called out. Ginny appeared in the doorway, holding onto a coat and giving a stern look toward Albus.

Albus let go of Scorpius and turned to his Mum. "We're coming inside," he told her. Then he beckoned for Scorpius and Astoria to come in.

"Oh, no, that's okay," Astoria said, "I think I'll leave now. He's in good hands."

"Nonsense," Ginny objected, "I'll make you some tea." She ushered everyone inside and closed the door.

Entering the foyer, Scorpius imagined Albus' house to be much bigger. The house wasn't small by any means, but it wasn't as grandeur as he'd pictured. In contrast, the house was quite homey and welcoming – the complete opposite to his own house. He found himself instantly liking the Potter home; it felt so alive.

As he and his mum were ushered into the kitchen, he found himself face-to-face with Harry Potter. Glancing from Harry to Albus, the two were spitting images of each other, except Albus didn't wear glasses.

"Hello Scorpius, I'm glad you could make it," Harry said, extending his hand.

Scorpius shook it and politely said, "You have a lovely home, sir. Thank you for having me."

"And you must be Astoria. It's nice to meet you," Harry said, turning to Scorpius' mum.

Just then, Lily and James bounded down the steps. Lily practically ran into Scorpius, nearly knocking him over, to give him a hug. "Yay, you came!" She said.

Scorpius hugged her back as he said, grinning, "You guys are really touchy-feely."

"Oh, bloody hell," James piped up, sneering at Scorpius, "This is going to be the worst week of my life."

"James Sirius, watch your language!" Ginny scolded her eldest.

Breaking free of Lily, Scorpius ignored James and turned to Albus. "We should play pranks on him while he sleeps," he whispered to Albus.

Albus turned his head toward Scorpius and grinned. "I'm so glad you're here. I've been going insane this past week." Facing his parents, he asked, "Can I put his things in my room for now?"

Ginny nodded as she said, "We'll figure out living arrangements later. Go ahead, have fun."

Scorpius gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek and said, "Thanks for letting me visit them. Owl me if you need anything, okay?"

Astoria nodded and smiled at her son. "Don't worry about me. Have fun, Scorpius," she said.

Waving goodbye, he picked up his bags and followed Albus upstairs. Once in Albus' room, Scorpius dropped his bags in the corner and sat on the edge of the bed. Glancing around the room, Scorpius noticed the Chudley Cannons posters on the dark blue walls. He turned his head when Albus flung himself on his bed and grinned at Scorpius.

"How was Christmas?" Scorpius asked.

Albus' grin faded as he thought back to yesterday. "Louis, James, and Fred have gotten pretty chummy. They glared at me the whole day. So _that_ was fun."

Scorpius frowned as he said, "I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do –"

"It's not your fault," Albus cut in. Then he smiled and cheerily added, "Anyway, it wasn't all bad. I got some wicked presents. How was yours?"

Scorpius was convinced his mother would forget about getting him presents, not that he would have minded if she had forgotten; there wasn't anything he absolutely wanted this year. But, she didn't forget, to his surprise. His maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother came over yesterday for a nice, albeit slightly awkward Christmas dinner. "It was nice, but nothing special," he replied.

"That's good," Albus said. Then, getting up from the bed and walking over to his closet, he proclaimed, "I have something for you."

After handing him the gift, Scorpius tore open the wrapping paper and discovered a small, square mirror. He lifted it up and saw himself. Curiously, Scorpius looked to Albus and slowly asked, "Are you trying to tell me I need to groom more?"

Albus laughed and said, "No, silly! It's a two-way mirror. I've got the other one. We can communicate through these when we're not together. I reckon it beats owling each other every day."

"Wow, thank you," Scorpius said, grinning. _Now maybe I won't be so bored alone at home anymore_, he thought to himself. "That's really thoughtful."

Albus shrugged and smiled. "I do what I can," he stated.

Putting aside the mirror, Scorpius got up from the bed and went over to his bags, fumbling through one of them. "Well, I have something for you, as well." He got out a neatly-wrapped present and walked back to the bed and handed the present to Albus.

Albus ripped the wrapping paper open and held a _Dummy's Guide to Potions_ book in his hand. He laughed aloud and exclaimed, "Hey, I thought I was doing well in Potions!"

"You still have much to learn, young wizard," Scorpius teased. Motioning toward the book, he said, "Open it. There's more."

Eyebrows furrowing, Albus anxiously opened the book. Three chocolate bars fell out onto the bed. Albus grinned in delight. As he picked one up, he read the wrapping, which stated: Personalize your candy bar.

Curious, Albus unwrapped one of the chocolate bars and his grin grew even wider at what he saw. On the chocolate bar, there was white wording that said, "Thanks for being there." In the center, a snake and a lion were peacefully intertwined together. "Wow, I don't even want to eat this."

"That's why I got you three, so you could keep one if you wanted," Scorpius said. He had gotten the idea from the necklace he'd seen at Borgin & Burkes. But this was a lot less violent. "Do you like it?" He softly asked.

"It's brilliant, Scorpius! Thank you," Albus beamed. "Who knew you were such a romantic," he said, elbowing Scorpius in the side.

Scorpius scrunched up his nose. "I wouldn't go that far. I don't want to get too sappy," he defended.

Albus grinned as he sultrily said, "No? Because I think you're really the sappy type." Then he leaned over and kissed Scorpius on the lips.

Scorpius breathed in deeply as he got closer to Albus, kissing the Gryffindor back. Merlin, he had missed this!

Albus pressed his lips harder against Scorpius' mouth, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck.

And just when they thought they would finally get some privacy, Ginny called upstairs, "Boys, time for dinner!"

Albus pulled away and frowned as he exasperatedly said, "We can't catch a break!" He hopped off his bed and turned back to Scorpius. "I'm glad you're here," he gently said.

Scorpius smiled at Albus, saying, "I'm glad I'm here, too."

* * *

**Well, I hoped you liked it! They're finally together! And next chapter there will definitely be A/S action. I just didn't have room in this chapter.**

**Also, I want to run something by you guys before they get too involved, and please tell me what you think. I'm not sure if I want to keep the T rating or move it to M. I've never written an M-rated story, nor have I ever been too explicit with my description. I want them to get more heated eventually and have more stuff happen in detail. But, what I want to know from you guys is if I should switch to M and write smuttier or keep the T rating and write in as much detail as I can without breaking the rules. Hope that makes sense. Ultimately, it's whatever you guys want. I don't want to shock people by talking about certain things or turn anyone away from this story based on the rating.**

**So yeah, tell me what you think. And thanks for being so patient with me!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Wow, thanks for all the reviews! Maybe I should make my updates less frequent to generate more reviews xD ha. Kidding. And speaking of, this is probably my fastest update! Yay! I spent all week typing this while effectively procrastinating on my english essay. ****Anyway, this chapter is another long one. I figured you guys deserved it after not updating for a month. I really like this chapter. It was fun writing the Potter/Weasley family...or some of them, anyway.**

**I've decided to keep the rating to T. This story isn't only focused on Albus and Scorpius' romantic relationship, and I don't want to change that now. But you will get some much-needed action in this chapter. Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the marvelous J.K. Rowling does!**

* * *

Chapter 13

As Ginny served dinner, Scorpius noted with surprise that there were no house elves. Every home he'd been to had house elves. But apparently, not every household had them. Scorpius smiled inwardly at how different Albus' family was compared to his. He liked the differences, though. And with the exception of James, the Potter home was quite welcoming. Everyone sat at the dinner table and talked to each other. Even when his Dad was alive, the three of them rarely talked at dinner.

"How's your break so far, Scorpius?" Ginny asked the Slytherin as she sat down.

"It's going well," he politely said, glancing around the table and noticing that everyone was staring at him. It was beginning to intimidate him.

"Your mother seems nice," Ginny spoke up again, trying to make conversation.

Taking a bite of the steak, Scorpius just nodded. He didn't know what else to say.

"He's not really staying all week, is he?" James asked his parents, "Can I go stay at Fred's for the week?"

Ginny turned to her eldest son and gave him a sharp look. She scolded him, "James Potter, you will not be eating dinner if you don't behave soon."

James looked down at his plate and rolled his eyes. "I'm not staying in the same house with Malfoy," he muttered.

Scorpius had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't say anything in front of Harry and Ginny, but it was extremely hard to be polite when James acted like an ass.

"Oh, get over yourself. The world doesn't revolve around you," Albus shot at his brother.

"I don't speak to house traitors," James sneered, his green eyes cold as ice.

Outraged, Albus leaned over the table and shouted, "I'd rather be a house traitor than an insolent twat! Stop treating Scorpius like he's a piece of – "

"Boys, that is enough!" Harry raised his voice, cutting off Albus. "I will not tolerate this arguing anymore."

Albus sat back in his chair and glowered at James. James did the same. Meanwhile, Scorpius studied his plate of food like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. He hated that Albus was fighting with his brother because of him.

"James, apologize to Scorpius," Harry sternly instructed him.

"No way!" James protested. He pushed his plate of food away and asked, "May I be excused?" But he got up from the table and went to his room before anyone could say something.

"Don't worry, it's usually like this," Lily softly said to Scorpius, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Blocking it out works best for me."

Scorpius turned to Lily and smiled at her. "Remind me to try that next time," he dryly told her. Then he turned his head toward Albus and asked, "Are you okay?"

Albus forced a grin and nodded, but it was clear he was still fuming.

"I am so sorry about this, Scorpius," Ginny said, ashamed that her eldest would act like this. She had taught him better than that.

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Potter. I'm used to it," Scorpius said, giving her a tight, reassuring smile. Most of the Gryffindors hated him and would have said the same things James had said. It wasn't the insults he was worried about; it was Albus. He didn't want Albus to suffer because of him, but Scorpius didn't know how to make things better.

"I'll talk with James. That was unacceptable," Harry said, ashamed as well.

Dinner finished rather quickly after that. After washing up, Albus and Scorpius sat down to play a game of wizard chess, and Lily watched them. After three games (where Scorpius won two of them), Ginny came in the living room and said, "Let's figure out a living arrangement for Scorpius."

"Why not put an extra bed in my room? We can make room," Albus offered.

"But we don't have another bed," Lily said.

Ginny thought for a moment then said aloud, "I suppose I could transfigure something into one." She then walked out of the living room.

"You two are going to sleep in the same room? Are you sure you even need a second bed?" Lily joked, her eyes gleaming.

But Albus didn't find her so amusing. "Don't get any ideas, Lil," he warned her, "I don't want you barging in at midnight like a creep."

"What? I would never!" Lily exclaimed, pretending to be outraged. Then she gave the boys a secretive smile and said, "Goodnight," in a sing-song voice and headed upstairs.

A few minutes later, Ginny arrived in the living room again and told them, "Okay, the bed's ready."

Albus grinned as he hugged her. "Thanks, Mum! Goodnight, I love you!"

Ginny kissed Albus on the forehead as she said, "I love you too. Goodnight Scorpius." She smiled at the Slytherin then turned back toward Albus. "Don't stay up too late."

"We won't," Albus said as he and Scorpius headed upstairs and into his room. Once there, Albus asked, "Do you want to take a shower first or shall I?"

"You go ahead. I'll take mine in the morning," Scorpius replied, sitting on the soft and springy bed, wondering what Ginny transfigured it out of. Once Albus left, Scorpius went over to his bags and opened it up, searching for his toiletries and pajamas. After getting ready for bed, he went over to Albus' desk and bookshelves, glancing at everything.

A few minutes later, Scorpius was startled by a noise. He whipped around and saw that Albus had re-entered the room. Scorpius' heart pounded and his eyes widened at the sight of him. Albus wore only boxers, which exposed his tan, muscular torso, and his black hair stuck up wildly and was dripping wet. "Wow," was all he uttered.

Toweling off his damp hair, Albus looked at Scorpius, confused. "What?" He asked. Then his eyes followed at where Scorpius was staring. Albus grinned, tossing the towel on the floor, and walked over to Scorpius. "Like what you see, do you?" He slyly asked.

"How could I not?" Scorpius said, grinning.

Albus went over to the door and locked it, then came back to Scorpius. "You know," he murmured, "We have privacy now."

Scorpius' grin grew wider as he said, "Indeed we do." It took every bone in his body not to jump Albus. How someone as attractive as Albus could be interested in him – a pale, thin mess – Scorpius didn't know; but he wouldn't question it, either. Slowly, Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus' bare torso and crushed his lips on the other boy's.

Albus kissed back with equal intensity, running his hands through Scorpius' shaggy blond hair.

Both boys parted their lips, seeking passage into the other's mouth. Albus took the initiative as he leaned in and pushed his tongue into Scorpius' mouth, exploring the familiar area. The kiss electrified Albus, and his senses went on overdrive. As he and Scorpius' tongues danced around one another, Albus walked backwards to his bed, still holding onto Scorpius, and laid on the bed. They momentarily parted to get comfortable on the bed with Scorpius on top.

Scorpius pushed his hair out of his eyes as he leaned back in for another kiss. This time, he stuck his tongue into Albus' mouth, and Albus sucked on it, causing Scorpius to grin in delight, sparks surging through his veins. Soon, he moved to Albus' earlobe and lapped the fleshy skin with his pink tongue. Simultaneously, Albus slid his hands up Scorpius' shirt and rubbed circles in his back then squeezed, embracing the boy. Scorpius brought his lips back to Albus' lips, kissing them once more, and breathing in the Gryffindor's indefinable scent.

Albus' insides felt as though they were melting. He didn't care if anyone barged in, which wasn't possible anyway because the door was locked; this moment was perfect, and he didn't want it to end. He felt Scorpius' heart beat fast and irregularly; the sound was comforting.

Scorpius was pleasantly delighted at how good of a kisser Albus was; he could honestly kiss the Gryffindor forever and never tire of it. Scorpius' warm, dry body was a thrilling contrast to Albus' damp, cold one. Scorpius smiled as he ran his fingers through Al's still-wet, messy hair. "You're really attractive," Scorpius softly murmured, the words barely audible.

"You're even hotter," Albus silkily declared in-between kisses.

Scorpius opened his eyes for a moment and wrinkled his nose in protest, but inside he felt giddy at the compliment. He felt like a new person, completely at ease and without any worry, with Albus; that was the best feeling Scorpius could ever hope for.

Bringing his lips to Scorpius' for one more long, adoring kiss, Albus reluctantly pulled away because it was getting late. "We should make a habit of this – making out after hours," Albus said with a smile.

Scorpius positioned himself to face Albus on his side. "I'd say that is a very good idea," he softly uttered.

"What can I say, I always have the best ideas!" Albus joked, winking.

Scorpius chuckled as he sat up and retorted, "I wouldn't give you _that_ much credit."

Pretending to be appalled, Albus pushed Scorpius back down on the bed and hovered over him, staring at him for a few seconds too long. Finally, he kissed Scorpius and said, "Goodnight, Scorpius." Then he got off the other fifth-year.

Scorpius kissed Albus on the cheek and got up to return to his bed. "See you in the morning," he whispered.

Then, the two boys happily snuggled under their own covers and closed their eyes to sleep.

(

_An eight-year-old version of Scorpius sat on the couch, pretending to read, when he was actually trying to eavesdrop on his dad and Ezekiel Byrne's conversation. They stood off to the side of him, but within hearing distance._

"_The Weird Sisters were pure gold! How can you call them rubbish?" Byrnes exclaimed, bewildered._

"_Not everyone from our time had to like the Weird Sisters," Draco said, chuckling._

"_They were practically religion!" Byrnes said, laughing as well._

_Curious, Scorpius turned to the two adults and asked, "What's the Weird Sisters?"_

_Draco turned to his son and explained, "It was a popular band from when we were at Hogwarts."_

"_And you didn't like them?" Scorpius asked, completely intrigued by the conversation now._

_Draco ruffled Scorpius' hair as he joked, "No, I consider myself to be a nonconformist."_

_Byrnes snorted in laughter. "Sure had a funny way of showing it back then," he bluntly quipped._

_Draco's smile faded as he shot Byrnes a look. "What's that supposed to mean?" He countered, all humor out of his voice._

_Byrnes put his hands up, meaning no offense. Yet, his next words implied something different. "You did everything your Mummy and Daddy told you to," he responded, trying to keep his voice light._

_Draco was quiet for a long time. Scorpius watched as his dad's face tensed up. Finally, he slowly and icily questioned, "Are you seriously bringing this up in front of my son? That was ages ago, Byrnes."_

_Not wanting to upset Draco, he gave a grin and lightly slapped him on the back. "I was kidding, Draco! Relax!"_

_Even though Scorpius didn't know what they were talking about, he could sense the tension between Dad and Ezekiel. He glanced expectantly at his dad, and Draco caught his eye._

"_I think it's time for dinner. Come along, Scorpius," Draco said, turning his back on Byrnes._

"_Not so fast," Byrnes darkly said, wand in hand._

_Draco whipped around and suddenly Aria Selwyn appeared and held Draco down so he couldn't move. Byrnes pointed his wand at Draco's chest and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" Draco screamed as the green jets of light filled the room, then he went limp._

"No!" Scorpius shouted, bolting upright in bed. Tears streamed down his face and he felt faint.

"What the hell?" Albus asked, disoriented from being awakened so suddenly. Immediately, James, Harry, and Ginny rushed into Albus' room, their wands in hand. "What happened?" Harry asked, alarmed.

Breathing hard and distressed, Scorpius tried to ask where he was, but no words came out.

As Ginny turned on the lights, Albus was speaking, "I don't know. He just started screaming." Albus turned to his friend and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut and the memory of his father being murdered was still vivid in his mind. Tears cascading down his red cheeks even harder, Scorpius simply nodded, too upset to speak.

"All this for a nightmare? For Merlin's sake, he's a freak!" James exclaimed, clearly irritated from being woken up too early.

Ginny scowled at her son and pointed out the door. "Go back to bed _now_!"

Muttering something incomprehensible, James left.

Albus moved over to sit on Scorpius' bed and put a protective arm around his shoulder. "It's okay, you're awake now," he soothingly said.

"I'll make some warm milk for him," Ginny softly said before heading downstairs.

"What was the nightmare about?" Harry asked as he sat down on Albus' desk chair and faced the two boys.

Scorpius took a moment to calm himself down so he could speak. "At first it was just a memory of when I was younger. Dad and Ezekiel were talking – "

Albus cut him off, "Wait, the guy who – "

"Yes, him," Scorpius curtly stated. "They were talking about the Weird Sisters and then," Scorpius took a moment to wipe his tears away and keep from blubbering like an idiot. "Then he killed Dad. Right there in the living room." Scorpius bit his quivering lip and leaned into Albus for comfort.

"Oh, Scorpius," Albus quietly murmured, feeling awful for his friend. "How often have you been having these again?" He remembered Scorpius telling him about the nightmares a couple of months ago.

Scorpius shrugged as he muttered in a shaky voice, "They come and go. But, I don't have them very often anymore."

Harry wanted to ask Scorpius a few questions, but he decided to wait until tomorrow when the boy had calmed down. He knew from experience that nightmares were frightening. "You're in good hands now, Scorpius. We'll keep you safe," Harry gently said.

Ginny came back into the room, carrying a silver tray with a mug of warm milk and a chocolate bar atop it. She set the tray on the nightstand and instructed, "Eat the chocolate. You'll feel better."

As Scorpius took a bite of the chocolate bar, he began to feel extremely embarrassed. Glancing around the concerned faces, Scorpius let out a long sigh. "Shit, I can't believe I'm crying like a pansy," he mumbled to himself, frustrated for having a nightmare here. "Sorry about everything. You didn't have to do this for me."

Ginny smiled sweetly at Scorpius as she said, "Don't worry, it's no trouble. We want you to feel safe."

Scorpius slowly nodded as he sipped his milk. "Thank you," he said.

"If you need anything else, just ask," Harry warmly said, his green eyes filled with concern. After turning off the light, Harry and Ginny reluctantly returned to their room.

Once the door closed, Scorpius leaned back against the pillow and groaned. "I can't believe I screamed," he said, ashamed.

Albus lied down next to Scorpius and turned to him. "I didn't know nightmares left you this shaken up," he softly said, "You should have told me. I'd have tried to help."

Scorpius faced Albus and frowned. "And tell you what?" He bitterly exclaimed. "That I'm a fucking wimp when I have a bad dream?" Scorpius turned on his back and closed his moist eyes. "It's embarrassing."

Albus draped a comforting arm over Scorpius' stomach and laid his head against Scorpius' shoulder. "You're not a wimp. Actually, I think you're really strong for dealing with all this."

Scorpius bit his lip, wishing he could believe Albus. But in his opinion, he was the weakest person he knew. Then, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him, but he was too afraid to sleep. However, it was barely three a.m. and there was no way he was going to stay up. Scorpius turned back to face Albus and quietly asked, "Will you, um, stay with me here?" He didn't want to be alone. Right now, Scorpius needed Albus' comfort and security.

Albus didn't think twice about the possible consequences of his parents walking in on them sleeping in the same bed together. He only wanted Scorpius to feel safe. "Yes, of course," Albus whispered. He pulled the covers over him and Scorpius and snuggled up beside the Slytherin. Kissing the top of Scorpius' forehead, he said, "Good night. Try to get some sleep."

Scorpius hadn't felt this vulnerable in a really long time. Trying to push out all embarrassing thoughts of feeling like a helpless child, Scorpius cuddled up to Albus, closed his eyes, and wished for pleasant dreams.

(

The next morning, Scorpius woke up, thankful to discover that he'd had no other nightmares. Seeing that Albus was still sleeping, he gathered a change of clothes and went to take a shower. After that, Scorpius went downstairs to find Harry and Ginny at the kitchen counter, sipping coffee.

Noticing someone had come downstairs, Ginny looked up from her mug and said, "You're up early."

"Er, yeah, habit I guess," Scorpius inarticulately stated. He was still embarrassed from the previous night. "Mr. Potter, may I talk to you for a moment?"

"Please, call me Harry," Harry said. He set his mug on the table and stood up. "And sure, let's go to my study."

So Scorpius followed Harry into his study and lingered near the doorway. As Harry sat down, Harry motioned for Scorpius to sit down. Obeying, Scorpius sat down in the middle of the couch. "I'm really sorry about last night," he muttered.

"I've had my fair shares of nightmares. I used to hate when my friends would coddle me because of them," Harry said, trying to make some connection with Scorpius. It was weird being in the same room with Draco's son who happened to look just like Draco at fifteen. Leaning back in his chair, he asked, "How are you feeling today?"

Scorpius fidgeted in his seat. He still felt intimidated by Harry Potter. His parents had never talked badly about the Potters, or the Weasleys for that matter; but at the same time, they had never said any good things, either. Scorpius had only heard stories from school about all the good Harry Potter and his friends did, and all the bad his father had done. Bringing his eyes to focus on Harry, he sincerely replied, "I'd rather we pretend last night didn't happen."

Harry gave a small smile. "I don't blame you," he said. The two fell silent for a couple of minutes until Harry spoke up again, "Is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

Scorpius slowly nodded. The question had been eating at him for quite some time. "Do you know an Aria Selwyn?" He finally asked.

Harry was quiet for a moment as he tried to place the name. "Yes, I believe she works at the apothecary in Diagon Alley. Why do you ask?"

"She said she and my dad used to work together, but Dad never worked at an apothecary. I thought he worked at the Ministry," Scorpius explained. His dad had always been secretive about his job, and he'd never outright said he worked at the Ministry; Scorpius had always just assumed so. But now he wasn't so sure anymore. He didn't even know why he cared to know the answer so badly except that he got an unsettling feeling in his stomach whenever he thought about it.

Harry folded his hands on his lap and said, "Yes, your father did work at the Ministry. However, any other side jobs he might have had, I am unaware of them."

Scorpius frowned as he quietly stated, "She was in my dream last night with Byrnes. She held Dad down." But it was only a dream. Dreams couldn't have that much significance, right? Scorpius hoped so. He added, "I met her last week because she's my friend's mom, so maybe that's why she was in it. But, the dream still felt too real."

Dreams were an interesting concept. Harry had had dreams about Voldemort because of the connection they shared, so in that way, his were always significant. He also knew that post-traumatic stress disorder could be triggered in dreams, which was probably what Scorpius had experienced. "It does not do to dwell on dreams, Scorpius. Try not to focus on them too much. But, I'll keep an eye out for Aria Selwyn, just in case, okay?"

Scorpius nodded. He didn't want to think about his nightmare anymore; he just wanted to forget it and go about his day like normal. "Okay. Thank you, Mr. – I mean, Harry," Scorpius said.

Harry smiled at him, amazed at how different Scorpius was compared to Draco at that age. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here," he sincerely said. Standing up from his chair, he asked, "If you don't mind, could you wake up Albus? Breakfast will be soon."

Scorpius nodded and thanked Harry once more, then went upstairs to get Albus.

Later that day, after playing outside in the snow and walking around the nearby village for a few hours, Albus, Scorpius, and Lily headed back inside the house. They had asked James to come along, but he rudely declined and visited Fred's house instead. Once inside, the three changed into warmer clothes. By this time, James had returned home. He groaned when he saw Scorpius come out of Albus' room.

Scorpius turned his head at the noise. As James continued to scowl at him, he wondered why James hated him so much. Deciding to mess with the Gryffindor, he haughtily said, "For staring at me enough, I'm starting to think you fancy me."

"Shut up, prat," James sneered.

"Careful, you might get socked again," Scorpius retorted, smirking at the memory of punching James in the face awhile back.

James narrowed his eyes and roughly pushed Scorpius, causing the Slytherin to stagger backwards. "I dare you to hit me again," he hissed.

Fortunately, before things had gotten worse, Lily had walked upstairs and spotted Scorpius and James about to get into a fight. "Be nice, James," she said, coming to Scorpius' defense.

"Why is it always me? I'm not the bad guy here!" James exclaimed, annoyed that he was the one everyone got mad at. Jabbing at finger at Scorpius, James added, "_He's_ the one ruining our lives and brainwashing everyone!" Then he stalked into his room and slammed his door shut.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and grinned at Lily as the two of them walked downstairs. Then the doorbell rang and Lily rushed over to the door to see who it was. Letting out a sound of excitement as she opened the door, Lily called out, "Rose!"

Scorpius stayed off to the side so he wouldn't be in the way. Then he felt a body embrace him, a tussle of auburn hair hiding his face. "Scorpius, you made it! When did you get here?" Pulling away from him, she gave Lily a look and asked, "And why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Malfoy?" Ron incredulously exclaimed, doing a double-take at the Draco-look-alike. "What the – " Hermione elbowed him in the ribs before he could finish that sentence.

To see what all the sudden commotion was about, Harry and Ginny entered the foyer area. "We weren't expecting you so soon! Come in, come in!" Ginny happily exclaimed, smiling widely at her friends.

As James and Albus entered the living room, the adults retired to the kitchen to cook dinner and talk about work. Scorpius, Albus, Lily, and Rose sat together on one side while James and Hugo sat on the other.

"How long are you staying?" Rose questioned Scorpius.

"Just a week," he said.

Glancing at James and turning back, Rose mused, "The New Year's party will be interesting."

"I can't stand James lately. He's so thick," Lily quietly complained, careful not to let James hear her. "He almost got in a fight with Scorpius."

"Nothing was going to happen. Not here, at least," Scorpius muttered, studying the floor. He wondered if he should try to calmly talk to James, if only to keep the peace. He was beginning to feel like a burden, even though he knew he shouldn't because he hadn't done anything.

"Seriously?" Albus asked, though not the least bit surprised. "I don't know why he's acting like this." Albus kind of understood why Louis was angry with him, but James didn't have any reason to be angry; that was what really pissed Albus off.

Soon, everyone was called into the dining room for dinner. Rose and Albus sat on both sides of Scorpius. This was probably a mistake because as Rose and Scorpius talked, Ron glared more furiously at Scorpius with each passing second. Finally, after a few minutes, Ron decided he couldn't take it anymore. He bluntly proclaimed, "Rose, you'd better not be dating Malfoy."

"Ronald!" Hermione and Ginny both exclaimed, appalled that he would say such a thing. James and Hugo snickered, Albus and Lily were shocked, Rose glared at her dad, and Scorpius and Harry were amused.

Being overly polite, Scorpius said, "Don't worry, Mr. Weasley. Rose and I are not dating."

"How could you be so rude?" Rose questioned her dad, her cheeks burning hot.

Realizing that he had made a scene, Ron smiled sheepishly as he said, "I was only curious."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband then focused her attention on Scorpius. "Please excuse him. Apparently he left his manners at home."

"It's okay. I'm not offended," Scorpius reassuringly stated. And he wasn't, for the most part. He was used to people hating him because of what his family had done years ago. It used to enrage him when he was younger, though. Scorpius never understood why everyone judged him so harshly because of his surname; he hadn't even been born during that time of the war.

After that, things eventually became more amicable, though Ron remained quiet for the better half of dinner. For that matter, so did Scorpius. He still felt a little guilty about all the trouble he was causing. He spent the rest of dinner formulating a plan in his head to get the ignorant Potters and Weasleys to like him. Usually, Scorpius didn't care about pleasing everyone or what people thought of him; if people didn't like him, that was their fault. But, he wasn't going to do this for him; he was doing this for Albus. Scorpius wanted Albus to be happy, and if that meant making peace with everyone, then so be it.

* * *

**So, tell me what you think! Loved it, hated it, left wanting more? And**** Happy [almost] Valentine's Day! You know what would be the best Vday gift? Reviews :D tehe.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yay, I'm getting fast with these updates! Ha! Thanks to all who reviewed; I greatly appreciate it. I also hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine's Day!**

**I meant to include Selwyn's party in this chapter, but that would have made this chapter too long. So, after chapter 15, the boys will be back in school. **

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters. The exuberant J.K. Rowling does.**

* * *

Chapter 14

The next two days were busy for the Potter household. They visited Molly and Arthur Weasley for the day because Harry and Ginny had to go into work. Arthur jumped when he first laid eyes on Scorpius, completely bewildered as to why he was there. But after the initial shock wore down, Arthur and Molly were quite polite toward Scorpius, for which Scorpius was thankful. Then, the next day, they all went to Diagon Alley to buy any school supplies they needed for the next term. After that, the Potters, minus James who had barely spoken a single word to Scorpius the last couple days, took Scorpius to the mountains to go skiing.

Now it was January 30th and needless to say, everyone was fatigued. Fortunately, everyone stayed in, mainly to get ready for the party tomorrow. As Scorpius groggily walked in the dining room for breakfast with a half-asleep Albus following right behind him, Harry announced, "Scorpius, you have mail from your mother."

Scorpius tilted his head to the side, worry instantly coursing through his veins. _Did something happen to her? _He thought as he reached for the envelope and quickly opened it. The letter read:

_Dear Scorpius,_

_This invitation arrived in the mail for you yesterday, which is enclosed with this letter. I hope you are doing well. I miss you terribly, but I will see you soon. I almost didn't write but Dremus insisted I write to you. These house elves are driving me mad, or madder than I am, I suppose. A good friend of mine, Aria Selwyn, visited me a couple of days ago. She said you told her to visit me. I am not sure how you know her, but I appreciate the gesture. It was nice to see an old friend again. _

_With love,_

_Your Mother_

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief as he read that she was doing well. He had forgotten he'd told Aria to visit his mum. Though she hadn't done anything to cause suspicion, Scorpius had been wary of Selwyn's mum since his nightmare that first night here. As he set the letter down on the table, he read through the invitation which was from Selwyn about his party. Scorpius pocketed the letter and invitation then sat down at the table next to Albus and Lily.

"Is everything okay?" Albus asked.

Scorpius nodded at his friend and replied, "Yeah, she's doing well." He would tell Albus about Selwyn's party later. Scorpius wasn't sure if Albus would be allowed to come along, though. But not having Albus beside him at the party unnerved him a little.

"After breakfast, I want you to clean your rooms," Ginny instructed to her children, and all three of them groaned in response. "You can't play until it is spotless," she added.

So, after everyone finished eating – James, Lily, and Albus had taken their precious time to procrastinate on cleaning – Albus and Scorpius went up to Al's room. Albus flopped down on his bed and groaned. "It's times like these when I wish I were of age to do magic."

"I'm sure it doesn't take that long to clean," Scorpius said, grinning. "Although, I wouldn't know. I've never cleaned before."

Albus sat up and furrowed his eyebrows. "What? How have you never cleaned before?" He asked, baffled.

Scorpius shrugged as he casually clarified, "My house elves do all that."

Albus' eyes bugged out of his head. "You have house elves?" He exclaimed, though he really shouldn't have been surprised.

Scorpius didn't know why it was such a big deal that he had house elves. "Yeah, I figured everyone has them."

Albus shook his head. "No, not really," he said. A smile crept upon his lips as he added, "You'd better not tell Rose. She might not like you anymore."

"We don't mistreat them, Albus. And anyway, without them the house would be a mess. Mum doesn't do shit anymore," Scorpius explained, frowning.

Albus got a thoughtful look on his face as he asked, "Think you could summon them up?"

Scorpius chuckled and shook his head. "Come on whinypants, you'll be fine." Then he began to make his bed. He'd seen Dremus make his bed a thousand times so it wasn't too hard. Personally, Scorpius didn't see the point when he would just unmake it hours later.

It took under a half hour to clean Albus' room and the nearby bathroom. After they finished, Albus and Scorpius leaned against Albus' bed post. Scorpius' hand absently caressed Albus' hand, and Albus laid his head against Scorpius' shoulder.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Scorpius murmured after a few minutes had passed, "I received an invitation from Selwyn for his party."

"Selwyn?" Albus lifted his head and turned toward Scorpius.

"Yeah, his party is in two days," Scorpius said, "I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

Albus frowned and asked, "Are you sure he wants me there?"

Scorpius didn't know the answer to that question. Shrugging, he asked, "What's it matter?"

"I don't want a bunch of Slytherins glaring at me the whole night," Albus stated, his arms folding across his chest.

"They'll probably be too drunk to care," Scorpius said with a grin.

But that didn't make Albus feel any better. There was something about Selwyn and his gang that seemed off. "I don't know. You can go, though."

Scorpius nodded, trying not to let his disappointment show that Albus didn't want to go. But, he decided to let the matter be for now.

"Anyway, let's focus on more important things, like how we haven't gotten to snog in awhile," Albus purred, inching closer to Scorpius' face.

"Any longer and I would have gotten withdrawals," Scorpius sexily murmured, his lips lingering just millimeters from Albus' lips.

Albus grinned as he felt Scorpius' hot breath on his face. "Well, we can't let that happen," he softly said. Then he closed in the tight distance between their lips.

Scorpius positioned himself on his knees, wrapping his arms around Albus' back, kissing the pale red lips he loved so much. Albus stroked Scorpius' soft, fine hair as he kissed harder with more intensity. Then he gently pushed Scorpius to the ground with him on top. Still kissing, Albus grabbed Scorpius' hands and sprawled them out over the Slytherin's head, and their fingers laced together.

Scorpius smiled to himself at the affectionate touch. He wrapped his legs around Albus's body, his boner rubbing against Albus' thigh. Allowing passage into his mouth, Albus' tongue gladly accepted the offer and intertwined itself with Scorpius' tongue as Scorpius simultaneously sucked.

Meanwhile, Harry had been sent upstairs by Ginny to check if everyone were cleaning. He first entered Lily's room and was pleasantly surprised that she had already finished. After chatting with her for a bit, he walked down the hall toward Albus' room. He knocked on the door and called out, "Albus? Are you cleaning?" Harry waited a few seconds, but when there was no response he opened the door.

Instantly, Harry noticed Albus and Scorpius on the floor making out. "Bloody hell!" Harry impulsively exclaimed.

At the sound, Albus opened his eyes and turned his head, only to see his father standing in the doorway. Cursing expletives under his breath, he bolted upright and away from Scorpius. He hadn't wanted his parents to find out this way. He had planned on telling them soon, but there never was a free moment to do so.

Seeing Harry himself, Scorpius' face flushed a furious red. As if he couldn't have been embarrassed enough the first night, this was worse times twenty.

"Er, I'm sorry, I should have, er, knocked," Harry mumbled incoherently, squeezing his eyes shut tight. He backed away, turned, and walked straight into a wall. Harry opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead as he called out in a state of panic, "Gin – Ginny? Could you, er, come here please?"

Five minutes later, Albus and Scorpius sat in Ginny's office, sitting opposite Albus' parents, both feeling incredibly awkward. Likewise, Harry and Ginny felt the same way.

"Er, when did you two begin dating?" Ginny asked, the first one to speak. She'd always had her suspicions about Albus being gay. He'd never been interested in girls the way James was, but it was more than that. Ginny had that vibe about her son; call it motherly instinct. She'd never dared to ask in case she was wrong, however. And though she had been right, Ginny was still shocked that she'd found out this way, and that her son was into a Malfoy.

Albus and Scorpius both looked at each other with curious expressions on their faces. Scorpius didn't really know what he and Albus were. They were more than friends of course, but nothing official had ever been said and done. A label had never been put on their relationship.

Speaking up, Albus answered, "Well, we're not technically dating." He glanced at Scorpius once more for confirmation. Scorpius nodded his head then shrugged.

"Oh," Ginny said. "Does anyone else know?"

"Only Rose, Lily, and Louis," Albus replied. "Although, it was clearly a mistake to tell Louis," he bitterly added.

Harry and Ginny nodded in unison, the shock still in both of their systems. Ginny looked at Scorpius and asked, "Do you mind if we speak to Albus for a minute?"

Scorpius shook his head no and left the room.

Focusing her attention back on her son, she asked, "How long have you known you were gay?"

Albus thought for a moment before saying, "Well, there wasn't really a defining moment, I guess. I've just always known, but I've never acted on it until Scorpius came along." Glancing from his dad's baffled expression to an unreadable expression upon his mum's face, he asked, "Are we in trouble?"

Ginny quickly shook her head. "No, of course not. I just wish you had told us."

Albus nodded in agreement. "I meant to, but it never seemed like the right time."

Finally, Harry spoke, "This is quite a shock, but we love you just the same." He wouldn't have ever guessed that his son would be gay. He wasn't upset, but he worried the rest of the Wizarding community wouldn't be as accepting if they were ever to find out. As an afterthought, Harry added, "Scorpius is a great kid."

Meanwhile, outside Ginny's office, Scorpius relayed to Lily everything that had happened. As he spoke, James came around the corner.

"What's going on?" He curiously asked.

Scorpius and Lily exchanged looks. Scorpius decided he probably shouldn't be the one to tell James that he and Albus were gay and had just made out twenty minutes ago. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," he cryptically said.

"Tell me!" James demanded, wanting in the loop.

Fortunately, Scorpius lucked out because the door opened and Albus walked out. "Your turn," he said to Scorpius, smiling softly.

"Are they mad?" Scorpius questioned. Albus shook his head no. He was in a daze, but he was glad that his parents accepted him the way he was. It was a damn good feeling.

Scorpius breathed in deeply and walked back inside the room, closing the door behind him. As he sat down, he immediately said, "I'm really sorry. I'll understand if I should go home."

Ginny smiled sweetly at Scorpius, amazed at how different he was from how the other Malfoys had been. "Nonsense, that won't be necessary!"

Scorpius was half-surprised, and it probably showed on his face. "You're okay with this?" He asked them.

Harry nodded as he told the boy, "This will take time for the shock to wear off, but we don't think any less of you or Albus."

"We can tell he makes you happy," Ginny chimed in, smiling sweetly.

"He does," Scorpius said. Then the realization of just how much Albus had helped him set in. Scorpius had never really given much thought to it until Ginny had said something. "I'm happier than I've been in a long time because of Albus," Scorpius softly added.

"Guess we've done something right," Ginny mused.

A curious look on his face, Harry studied Scorpius as he asked, "Have you told your Mother about you?"

Scorpius slowly shook his head no. He'd known he was gay since he was twelve but had never known how to tell his parents. And after his Dad died, the timing never felt right to tell his Mum especially because he had never thought much about boys while grieving. "No," Scorpius finally uttered, "She's not in such a great state right now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ginny said.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Ginny, Harry, and Scorpius immediately looked at the door, from where someone had just yelled.

Scorpius sank back into the couch as he said aloud, "James must have found out about us."

Glancing at Scorpius then at each other, Harry and Ginny got up and walked over to the door. Opening it, they saw a bewildered James.

"Is it true? He's chummy with that twat?" James incredulously questioned his parents.

Harry placed a hand on James' shoulder and tentatively said, "Maybe we should talk about this in the other room."

James gave an icy glare at Scorpius then followed his parents into the dining room.

Albus leaned against the wall and held Scorpius' hand. "This was a relaxing day," he sarcastically said to no one in particular.

(

The next morning, Albus and Scorpius woke up and were instantly met with a list of things to do before guests arrived. Harry and Ginny had said Scorpius could stay in Albus' room as long as they promised to keep the door open at all times. Albus was a little disheartened because that meant he and Scorpius wouldn't have private make out sessions anymore, but at least Scorpius was allowed to stay. He was thankful his parents accepted that he and Scorpius were gay. It made things much easier, especially now that there were no secrets.

Around one, people began showing up. Ron and Hermione were first to arrive. A few minutes later, Molly and Arthur apparated. With each family showing up, Scorpius became a little overwhelmed at just how big this family was. After George and Bill's family arrived, all the kids were ushered outside to play. Fortunately, the weather was fairly nice.

Scorpius hung back with Albus, Rose, and Lily. As more kids came outside, he was met with strange looks. Albus and Rose explained why he was here, and for the most part, no one minded much. They just weren't used to seeing a Malfoy at a Weasley-Potter event. In fact, the only ones who gave Scorpius murderous looks were Louis and James, naturally.

Scorpius waited until he found Louis alone, who was about to walk inside. "Hey, wait," he said to Louis.

Louis turned around and sneered, "What do you want?" He folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently.

"To talk?" Scorpius offered. When Louis stayed put, Scorpius continued, "Look, Albus means a lot to me and I know he means a lot to you, too."

"What's your point, Malfoy?" Louis asked, his eyes narrowed in thin slits.

"I'm over this bad blood between us. Albus has been going crazy without you. He won't admit it, but I know he misses you," Scorpius said, as politely as he could. He hated doing this and being the better man or whatever, but it had to be done. Taking in a few breaths, he added, "I'm not going anywhere, Louis, so we might as well try to get along. We don't have to like each other, but can't we at least be civil?"

Louis was quiet for a few moments before finally speaking. "What's your motive? You're brainwashing him to be spiteful?"

Scorpius slowly inhaled again, trying to remain polite. "No, believe it or not, I actually like the guy."

Louis frowned, saying, "He had plenty of opportunities to change his mind, but instead he spends all his time with you!"

"That's because you never gave him a chance! You gave him a fucking ultimatum. What was he supposed to do?" Scorpius practically shouted. He paused to recollect himself. In a quieter voice, Scorpius said, "I'm not trying to destroy your friendship with him. I needed him and he listened."

Louis glanced away from Scorpius, falling quiet again. At last, he dismissively mumbled, "I need to go." Then he briskly walked inside.

Scorpius sighed. _Well, I tried_, he thought to himself_. _

Albus and Lily walked up to Scorpius a couple of minutes later. "What were you talking to Louis about?" Albus asked.

Scorpius turned around, facing the two Potters. "I was trying to reconcile things between us. Not sure how much it helped, though," he answered.

Albus grinned a little. It was sweet of Scorpius to try to make amends. He certainly didn't have to because it was Louis who was being the asshole; but the gesture only made Albus like Scorpius that much more.

Startled by a voice, the three turned around and saw Ron announcing that there would be a Quidditch game before dinner.

"You guys play Quidditch here?" Scorpius asked. Though, looking around, there were certainly enough people for two teams.

"Yeah, we do it practically every time we get together," Albus replied.

"Now I know why you're so good," Scorpius said, grinning.

A figure approaching them, Lily suddenly ran out to embrace the figure, screaming, "Teddy!"

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Victoire was cranky and took longer than usual to get dressed. Must be the pregnant hormones," Teddy Lupin said as he approached Albus and Scorpius, arms linked with Lily.

"Congratulations, by the way, mate!" Albus exclaimed.

"Thanks, it's been one hell of a ride, though!" Teddy joked. He turned to Scorpius and grinned. "I'm afraid we haven't officially met," he said, extending his hand, "I'm Teddy Lupin, your cousin."

"I have a cousin?" Scorpius curiously asked, politely shaking Teddy's hand. His aunt Daphne had never gotten married.

"Technically, we're second cousins," he stated, still grinning.

"Teddy grew up here. He's practically my third brother," Lily told Scorpius.

Scorpius cocked his head to the side, a little confused. This family was even more intricate than he'd thought.

To clarify, Teddy explained, "Harry and Ginny are my god-parents. My actual parents died in the war."

"Oh," was all Scorpius said.

"It's okay, mate," Teddy reassured him. "It was nice to finally meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Scorpius politely said, nodding his head.

Hearing Victoire call out his name, Teddy said, "Better not keep her waiting." Then he turned and went to his wife.

"I didn't know he was your cousin, either," Albus said after Teddy had left.

Soon, the adults came outside for the Quidditch match.

"We'd better go. They're going to pair off teams," Lily said, walking toward the adults. Albus and Scorpius followed closely behind.

"Are you going to play?" Albus asked Scorpius.

Scorpius' forehead wrinkled as he thought about playing, but ultimately he decided it'd be best if he didn't. "No, probably not. I haven't played in so long."

"Come on, you have to!" Albus said, placing his hand on Scorpius' forearm. "You could be Seeker for me. Dad will probably let you win, like he does with me every time. It's so annoying."

Scorpius didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Albus' whole family if he were to play badly. "No, I'll sit out this time. That way, I can root for you."

Albus frowned, but nodded. "Okay, but next time, you're playing."

Scorpius grinned and gave Albus' hand a squeeze. "Good luck!" Then he went over to the porch where Rose sat with Lucy, a fourth-year and Percy's youngest daughter. "Are you not playing either?" He asked Rose.

"No, I'm not good at Quidditch. It's fun to watch, though. The adults get really competitive with the kids, but then Uncle Harry lets Albus get the snitch, and everyone gets mad at him. So, the kids always win."

Scorpius chuckled. "And this is the outcome of every game?"

"Pretty much," Hermione said, turning in her seat. "It's nice to see you again, Scorpius."

"Likewise, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius politely said.

"Please, call me Hermione," she said.

Scorpius watched the match for a few minutes before asking, "How does Albus get better if Harry lets him win?"

"Uncle Harry doesn't go easy on Al when they're practicing. But this is just for fun," Rose explained.

Hermione added, "Harry's not one for winning and getting the glory. It's what I admire most about him."

"Gin, on the other hand, could have gone far in Quidditch," Molly chimed in. She was still a little bitter about her only daughter becoming an Auror – a profession that definitely had its dangerous moments. Turning to Scorpius, she told him, "Gin played for the Holyhead Harpies before settling down and having kids."

"You must be very proud of her," Scorpius softly said.

Molly beamed, replying, "I'm proud of all my family."

A small, wistful smile appeared on Scorpius' lips as he turned back to the match. He suddenly wished he had this – a big, close-knit family. His own family wasn't much for which to be desired. His father was dead, his mother might as well be dead from how sick she was, and his grand-parents never talked to him. Astoria's parents weren't close with her because she married a Malfoy, giving them a bad reputation. Likewise, Draco's father practically disowned him after he refused to go into business with Lucius, and Narcissa had developed severe depression after the war. But with Albus' family, everyone seemed more or less perfect.

After the Quidditch match, where the kids won, everyone gathered inside. Dinner would be ready soon. Albus took off his coat and hung it in the closet then set out to find Louis. He wanted Rose with him for moral support, but she was nowhere to be found. He would have to do this alone.

Finding Louis, who was chatting with Dominique and Hugo, Albus dragged him off to the side.

"It's rude to interrupt people, you know," Louis remarked, frowning at Albus.

"I'm tired of fighting. Can't we be friends again?" Albus asked him, getting straight to the point.

Louis leaned against the wall. He slowly said, "I don't know, Albus."

A lump rose in Albus' throat and his eyes glanced at the floor. He wasn't going to apologize for befriending Scorpius though. He had done nothing wrong. Remembering what Dad had told him, Albus glanced back at Louis and sincerely stated, "You're still my best friend. Being with Scorpius never changed that."

Louis' expression softened a bit, but he was still wary. "You haven't been making that very clear. I just want things to go back to normal."

Albus was quiet for a moment. He didn't know what else to say that would change Louis' mind. Speaking with Louis for the first time in awhile made Albus realize how much had happened without telling Louis any of it. He used to tell Louis everything. So, in a quiet voice, he said, "My parents found out I'm gay. Yesterday, in fact."

Louis' eyes widened slightly at the news. He tentatively asked, "How'd they react?"

"Better than I thought they would. Dad seemed a bit put out at first, though, but I guess that's understandable," Albus answered him.

Louis nodded, relieved. But, he had never expected Uncle Harry or Aunt Ginny to be upset, anyway. They had always been even-headed and accepting of people. "How do you feel?" He questioned, wondering if Albus were okay with their finding out. He almost asked how they had found out, but decided he didn't really want to know because the answer probably involved Scorpius.

Albus shrugged. "A little weird, to be honest. But I'm glad it's out now," he replied. Yesterday was probably the most awkward day he had ever had.

Louis nodded, smiling a little. There was a period of silence before either boy spoke up again. After a couple minutes, Louis finally uttered, "I guess I've been pretty ridiculous these last couple months."

"You think?" Albus blurted out. In a softer tone, he added, "I never intended for you to get so upset over this."

"I know," Louis softly said. Grinning, he patted Albus on the back and exclaimed, "I've missed you, mate! Fred and James are a bore."

Albus broke out in a smile, a huge weight immediately lifting from his shoulders. "I've missed you too. Friends?"

Louis nodded and gave Albus a man-hug as he confirmed, "Friends!"

Relief and happiness washing over his body, Albus was so glad that he and Louis had stopped fighting. "Now let's get some food. I'm starving!"

Louis laughed, remarking, "Some things never change."

Albus shook his head as both of them headed into the dining room together. Taking a seat next to Scorpius, Albus turned to the Slytherin and gave him a big smile. Scorpius took note of Louis sitting on the other side of Albus, so he figured those two were friends again. Scorpius smiled in response.

Once dinner ended, Louis hung around Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Lily. Rose and Lily were pleased to see Louis had come to his senses, though they were disappointed when they learned Louis hadn't forgotten about the bet.

"What bet?" Scorpius asked Albus.

Albus groaned. "You don't want to know," he said as Rose told Louis the bet should be moot because he hadn't mentioned anything when he found out.

Soon, everyone joined the living room to tell stories and play games while waiting for midnight to arrive. A couple hours later, the clock struck 11:55 p.m.

While everyone passed out hats and magic knick-knacks, Scorpius whispered to Albus, "Follow me." Then he led Albus to an empty room away from everyone. "I want to be alone with you for this," he quietly said, intertwining his fingers with Albus' fingers.

Albus broke out in a smile. "I was thinking the same thing," he said.

Scorpius gazed into Albus' emerald green eyes. He slowly said, "I know we haven't really talked about this, and maybe it's pointless – " He paused, taking in Albus' confused expression and mustering up courage. After taking in a few breaths, he opened his mouth again. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Albus' eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Had Scorpius just asked him that? "Of-of course!" He exclaimed, smiling big.

Scorpius smiled wide as well, a wave of relief and excitement washing over him. "Great!" He breathed.

Suddenly, people began cheering and making noise, which meant it was a new year. Scorpius placed his hands on Albus' cheek and kissed his new boyfriend. "Happy New Year, Albus," he said, breaking away from Albus' lips.

Albus grinned and hugged Scorpius. "Happy New Year."

* * *

**I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rushed in any way. I had a lot of important information to get across so there wasn't much room for fluff. **

**But hey, tell me what you think by reviewing. If you loved it, hated it, or were left wanting more.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry, I meant this to be up last week, but it was a crazy busy week with midterms and everything. Anyway, the chapter is here now! Yay! Haha**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys truly keep me motivated :) So keep 'em coming!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the glorious J.K. Rowling does! (I'm running out of adjectives to describe this lady, baha)**

* * *

Chapter 15

"I can't believe break is almost over," Albus murmured as he lied on his bed the next morning.

Scorpius turned on his side to look at Albus. Silent, he studied the Gryffindor's features. Albus' hair messily stuck up and his emerald eyes gleamed with contentment. Scorpius grinned to himself as his eyes landed on the muscular arms that grasped the pillow on which Albus' head rested.

"We should go on our first date tonight," Albus continued.

Tuning in to the Gryffindor, Scorpius grinned and nodded. "That sounds great," he eagerly said. Then his face fell as he remembered what day it was. Scorpius sat up as he added, "Shit, I forgot Selwyn's party is tonight."

Albus sat up in bed as well. "Oh," he said, disappointed. He went over to Scorpius' bed and sat down next to the Slytherin. "You could always skip it," he cheerfully offered.

Scorpius suddenly felt conflicted. He really wanted to spend his last day with his new boyfriend, but he had already told Selwyn he'd go to the party. Finding a possible solution in his mind, Scorpius suggested, "Maybe we could have a lunch date and then you could go with me to Selwyn's house."

Albus' cheerful expression faltered. "I don't think it's a good idea if I go," he uneasily said. He knew that he, a Potter and a Gryffindor, would probably not feel welcome at a Slytherin party. "Can you not skip it?" He asked, but with a smile on his face so Scorpius wouldn't think he was upset, even though he was a little upset.

Scorpius shrugged, saying, "I could, but it'd be rude to skip when I said I'd go." He was disappointed that Albus didn't want to go, but he understood the reason why. "Are you angry?" He quietly asked.

Albus didn't want to argue so he gave a grin and said, "No, of course not. A lunch date will work just fine."

Scorpius grinned, relieved. "Alright, I'd better get dressed then." He gave a quick peck on Albus' lips then went to find a clean change of clothes.

(

Scorpius and Albus walked twenty minutes to a café in a small, nearby village. They sat down in a cozy booth in the dimly lit restaurant and ordered two butterbeers.

"This is nice," Albus said, leaning against the velvet upholstery. In the background, a radio was tuned in to a Quidditch match, but was overpowered by the jazz music filling the air.

"I'm not sure I want to go back to Hogwarts," Scorpius lightly confessed. He'd been having too much fun here with Albus. Spending the last two weeks at the Potter home was almost like an escape from reality; he felt safe, oddly enough.

Albus nodded in agreement, silent as the waiter handed them each a mug of butterbeer. Once the waiter left, Albus sipped his beverage then mused, "Everyone's going to find out about us."

Wiping his upper lip with a napkin, Scorpius looked at Albus with slight concern. "Is that a problem?" He asked. He hadn't really given much thought to what people would do or say in response to their relationship.

Albus shrugged and responded, "No, not really. Things just won't be the same anymore." Not that anyone dared mess with Harry Potter's son, Albus was still afraid of being labeled for his sexual preference rather than for who he was as a person. He'd always tried to break out of the "Harry Potter's son" stereotype, and soon he would be placed with a new one. The thought was a bit unsettling.

"Honestly, I don't want things to be the same. My life's been pretty shitty for way too long," Scorpius said, snickering in spite of himself.

Albus reached across the table and grabbed Scorpius' hand, giving it a squeeze. "As long as we're together, I know we'll be fine," he sincerely stated.

Scorpius grinned widely and returned the squeeze. "I'm glad you're mine," he said.

A smile breaking out on his face, Albus chuckled softly and teased, "And you say you're not a sap!"

Realizing that he had probably said the cheesiest thing in the world, Scorpius made a face. "Shut up! I am not!" He protested.

Albus smirked, still chuckling. "Denial will only get you so far, Scor." He took a swig of his butterbeer, wagging his eyebrows at the boy across from him.

Scorpius stuck his tongue out at Albus then smiled as well.

Suddenly, a pop resounded throughout the café. Both boys turned their heads, surprised to see a distressed house elf in front of their table.

"Dremus? What are you doing here?" Scorpius bewilderedly asked.

The house elf bowed low and gravely said, "Forgive me, Master Scorpius. Dremus has looked everywhere for you. You must come home immediately, sir." Bringing his head back up, Dremus laid eyes on Albus. "Oh!" He let out an exclamation of surprise. "Dremus did not know he was in the presence of a Potter. It is an honor, sir."

Albus gave a half-smile to the house elf and extended his hand. "Er, thanks, I guess. I'm Albus."

Dremus carefully shook Albus' hand, eyes and mouth open wide in elation. Then he cradled the hand, beaming brightly.

"Dremus!" Scorpius sharply exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Turning toward Scorpius, Dremus' face contorted back to a grave expression. "It's Mistress Astoria, sir. She's gotten worse."

Scorpius' stomach sank. He thought his mother was getting better. Standing up and dropping a few sickles on the table to pay for the meal, Scorpius turned to Albus and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to check on her."

Albus nodded in understanding. "Do you want me to go with you?" He asked.

"Yes," Scorpius replied. He was a little afraid of the state his mother might be in, and he didn't want to deal with her alone.

As they left the café, Albus asked Dremus, "Can you do side-along apparition?"

Dremus grinned proudly as he said, "I'm a house elf. I can do almost anything." Not sure if that should ease their nerves, the boys nonetheless grabbed Dremus' arm and they soon vanished.

Seconds later, they landed safely on the Malfoy's doorstep. Though he felt dizzy, Scorpius quickly ran into his house to find his mum.

As Albus followed, he glanced around the huge, dark house. He pulled his coat tighter around him, feeling colder inside than outside.

"Mum?" Scorpius urgently called out as he entered the master bedroom. The room was trashed. Clothes and broken furniture were strewn across the floor. In the center stood Astoria, swaying and belligerent.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked in disbelief.

At the sound of a voice, Astoria turned and laid eyes on Scorpius. Her face brightened and she came closer to him. "Draco? Is that you?"

The hairs on the back of Scorpius' neck stood up. _Wow, she really is messed up_, he thought silently to himself. He shakily said, "No, Mum, it's Scorpius, your son."

Astoria reached Scorpius and grabbed him by the shoulders. There was a wild look in her eye. "I knew you'd come back. I missed you."

Albus entered the room at this time and froze in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

"I'm Scorpius. Dad isn't here anymore," Scorpius said more firmly.

"Why did you leave?" Astoria yelled, her face suddenly becoming angry. She shook Scorpius, and then her frail arms weakly pounded his chest. "You left me! I love you and you left me! Don't ever do that again! I almost hated you!"

Scorpius tried to hold her arms down so she'd stop hitting him. He struggled to keep his lip from quivering as he declared, "Mum, stop! You're hallucinating! I'm Scorpius!" Turning toward Albus, he pleaded, "Help, please."

Albus nodded and quickly grabbed Astoria as she staggered backwards. Scorpius gently said, "Go to sleep. Dad will be there."

As Albus and Scorpius helped Astoria into bed, she closed her eyes and murmured, "We're going to France this summer. Just you and me, Draco." After pulling the covers over her, Scorpius kissed her forehead then left the room with Albus in tow.

"Is she always like this?" Albus quietly asked as they reached the dining room. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He didn't know how Scorpius could deal with this everyday and not break down.

Scorpius put on an aloof expression so he wouldn't cry or break something out of anger. "It's never been this bad," he softly said, embarrassed that Albus had to see his mum in this shape. Breathing in deeply, he announced, "I need to take her to St. Mungo's." He'd never thought his mum would reach the point of mistaking him for his father, not to mention destroy the bedroom. Sure, he and his father shared many similarities, but Draco hadn't been fifteen when he died.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Albus asked.

Scorpius turned around to face Albus. "Could you write a letter to your dad and ask if he can take her to the hospital? Tell my owl it's urgent."

After Albus let the owl out, the boys only had to wait around an hour before Harry apparated and knocked on the door. Scorpius opened the door and ushered in Harry.

"What happened?" Harry asked as walked inside.

Scorpius led Harry and Albus in the living room and sat down on the gray couch. He softly explained, "I'm sorry for the trouble. Usually I can handle her, but she didn't even know who I was." He glanced down at his hands, trying to squash the shame rising in him. "She hasn't been eating lately or going to work. All Mum does is drink alcohol and pass out." Bringing his head back up, he helplessly said, "I don't know what to do."

Harry stared sympathetically at Scorpius. "I'm sorry you have to go through this. I'll send a car to take her, then we'll follow. Hopefully a couple months at St. Mungo's will make your mother better."

"I hope so," Scorpius murmured.

Albus gave Scorpius' hand a comforting squeeze as Harry cast a patronus charm to St. Mungo's.

Twenty minutes later, a flying car arrived. Scorpius opened the door and greeted the man and woman in white suits. Because Astoria was still passed out, they levitated her downstairs and carefully placed her in the car. When the car left, Scorpius and Albus held onto Harry, and they apparated to the hospital.

After Harry spoke to the receptionist, he led Scorpius and Albus to the back of the hospital. "This wing was built after the war. It's for the mentally ill," he explained.

Scorpius frowned. That word didn't settle well with him. As they entered the room where Astoria was placed, they saw Astoria – now awake – pacing around the room.

"How are you feeling, Mum?" Scorpius cautiously asked.

Astoria whipped around, placed her hands on her hips, and demanded, "Why am I in here, Scorpius? I'm not crazy!"

Scorpius was thankful she now remembered him. He went over to his mother and sat her down on the bed. Sitting down next to her, he laid his hand on her shoulder and gently explained, "You need help. You can't keep doing this to yourself – lying in bed and drinking all day. I just want you to get better."

Seeing that Scorpius would be safe here, Harry and Albus quietly left to wait in the tea room.

"You don't know how difficult it is," Astoria said in between sobs. "I'm all alone in that huge house and I see reminders of him everywhere."

"I understand, believe me," Scorpius said, keeping his voice gentle. "I miss Dad too. Every time I look in the mirror, I'm reminded of him and how I couldn't save him that night." Scorpius wiped away the tear streaming down his face. That was the first time he had expressed how guilty he felt about his dad's death.

Wiping her own tears away, Astoria mumbled, "But you seem so happy."

"I'm tired of being sad all the time. I was depressed for so long and it nearly killed me – just like it's killing you," he said with uneasiness. He got up from the bed and faced his mother. "Dad would have wanted us to be happy."

Just then, a door opened and a man with a clipboard walked in. "Hello, I'm Healer Jordan. It's time for your evaluation, Ms. Malfoy."

"How long will I stay?" Astoria asked, trembling.

"Until we feel you're ready," Jordan said.

Astoria turned to Scorpius and pleaded, "Please, I'll be better! Don't do this to me."

"I'm sorry, Mum. I can't lose you too." He gave a small wave goodbye then left the room without turning back while silently telling himself this had to happen. Reaching the tea room, he spotted Harry and Albus. He wearily said, "I'm ready to go."

Harry nodded and they made their way outside. Then he held onto each boy and apparated back to the Potter house.

(

That night around ten, Scorpius had changed into a pair of dark-washed jeans and a fitted forest green cashmere sweater under a gray wool coat. "How do I look?" Scorpius asked Albus.

"Stunning, of course," Albus replied as he sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his legs back and forth. "Are you sure you want to go after all that happened today?"

Scorpius firmly nodded. "I need to get out and not think about things." He went over to his bag and fished out the square mirror Albus had gotten him for Christmas. "I'll take this in case of emergencies," he said, grinning, as he pocketed the mirror.

"Well, be careful. My parents don't know you're going out," Albus warned. He felt a little uneasy about Scorpius leaving to go to a party, but he didn't want to confront Scorpius about it.

"I will, don't worry," Scorpius said, kissing Albus' lips. "I'll be back later." Then he carefully and quietly walked downstairs. Once outside, he went to the barn to retrieve a foldable broom. After mounting it, Scorpius flew to Selwyn's house.

Once there, Scorpius folded the broom to the size of a wand and placed it inside his jacket pocket. Then he knocked on the door of the Victorian-style house. A few seconds later, Selwyn appeared with a plastic cup in his hand. "Hey, you made it!" He said, his words slurred. "Come in!"

Scorpius followed Selwyn into the kitchen where a few witches and wizards from his grade were drinking. Scorpius nodded a hello at them, and they did the same.

"Want something to drink?" Selwyn asked him.

Scorpius glanced at all the bottles and cups strewn across the counter. He'd never had alcohol before, and he wasn't exactly fond of it because of what it did to his mother. Scorpius frowned when he thought of her. Thinking about her was exactly what he wanted to avoid tonight. _Oh, what the hell,_ he thought with a shrug. "Sure, I'll have what you've got."

"Vodka and tonic?"

"Sure, that's fine," Scorpius said. He didn't really care what drink it was; he just knew he didn't want to be in his right mind tonight.

"Alright," Selwyn said. He went to the counter and poured a transparent liquid into a plastic cup, then handed the cup to Scorpius. "There are more people in the living room. Have fun!" He said, holding his cup up.

Scorpius clinked cups with Selwyn and thanked him. He took a swig and struggled not to wince from the disgusting taste and burning feeling in the back of his throat. He walked in the dimly-lit living room and was met with people dancing to music. Off to the side, he saw Rowle and Monroe talking. Scorpius went over to them and said, "Hey."

"Hey, Malfoy. Glad you could make it," Monroe greeted him.

"That girl is definitely checking me out, mate," Rowle said as he tilted his head to the right.

Monroe looked to the right and chortled. "The blonde? In your dreams, Rowle."

"Nah, I'm going over there," Rowle determinedly said.

"Don't come whining to me when she kicks your perverted arse," Monroe uttered as Rowle began to make his way over to the attractive blonde.

"What's going on?" Scorpius curiously asked.

Monroe turned to Scorpius, took a sip from his glass bottle of rum, and explained, "Rowle's resolution this year is to get laid, and he's been scoping out girls all night." Glancing back at Rowle, who was failing to woo the blonde, Monroe laughed as he added, "I'm surprised he hasn't gotten slapped yet."

Scorpius laughed as well then took another sip from his cup. As he was about to comment on how ridiculous Rowle was, Scorpius heard his name being called. He turned his head and saw Warrington and Zabini approaching him.

"Didn't expect you to be here," Warrington said.

Scorpius kept an aloof expression on his face. He coolly stated, "I'm friends with the host. What's it to you?"

"You never do anything. It's just weird seeing you here," Zabini commented.

Monroe narrowed his eyes at the two fifth-years and ordered, "Bugger off. He doesn't want to talk to you lot."

Warrington and Zabini gave a weird look toward Scorpius, but did as Monroe ordered. When they left, Monroe said, "Those cocky bastards annoy the hell out of me."

Scorpius grinned a little. "Same here. We used to be friends though."

"Glad you dumped them." Monroe put an arm around Scorpius' shoulders and grinned as he exclaimed, "Now you've got better friends!"

Scorpius silently nodded, not really sure what to say. He didn't dislike these guys, but he also couldn't see himself hanging around them all the time.

"Well aren't you two cozy," Rowle observed as he came up to Scorpius and Monroe.

"Shove off!" Monroe said as he dropped the arm that was on Scorpius' shoulders.

"Did she reject you?" Scorpius asked, finishing the contents of his cup.

Rowle scowled. "She's a hag. I can do better."

Monroe glanced back at the blonde and grinned. "I'm going over there to repair the damage you did and keep her for myself." Nodding goodbye, he turned and walked in the direction of the blonde.

"She's not worth it!" Rowle drunkenly called out. At this time, Selwyn and Pince approached the group. Rowle turned toward Scorpius and asked, "You shagging that Rose girl yet?"

"No, and you can't have her either," Scorpius pointedly said.

"Is she dating someone?" Selwyn asked him.

Scorpius shook his head. "No, I just don't want Rowle corrupting her."

"She would love it," Rowle defended. Then he spotted a group of girls walking out of the room and quickly left to follow them.

"Pay no attention to him. He's a dick," Pince told Scorpius. He peered into Scorpius' empty cup and added, "You look like you could use some more."

"I'm fine," Scorpius said. He was already feeling a little buzzed.

"No, I insist," Pince firmly stated as he poured an amber liquid from his bottle into the plastic cup. "It's good, I promise."

"Er, okay," Scorpius said, taking a sip. The taste had a hint of cherry, and it wasn't as foul.

"We'll take a shot, too," Pince said, grabbing Scorpius' hand and bringing him into a secluded room.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked the sixth-year, confused.

Pince placed his hand on Scorpius' waist and drunkenly whispered, "I know about you."

Scorpius uncomfortably glanced down, slowly becoming aware of what Pince was trying to do. He carefully took Pince' hands off his waist. "Stop, I can't."

"You're really hot, Malfoy. And I'm really horny," Pince said, ghoulishly grinning.

"You're really destroyed," Scorpius said, backing away from the Slytherin. "I have a boyfriend," he confessed.

Pince got closer and murmured, "I could be your boyfriend."

Reaching the door to the kitchen, Scorpius said, "You should lie down or something." Then he quickly opened the door and closed it, completely bewildered at what had just happened. He'd have never thought Isaiah Pince, Hogwarts' notorious bad boy, would be gay.

For the next couple of hours, Scorpius drank and chatted with various Slytherins about nothing in particular while avoiding Pince. Luckily, the guy had actually passed out so he didn't have to worry about another strange encounter. Besides almost being sexually harassed, he was quite enjoying himself, not thinking about anything. He could vaguely see why this was so appealing to his mother, though he still didn't condone the behavior.

Scorpius looked around him and chuckled when he saw Rowle pouting from not getting any action as he enviously watched Monroe make out with the blonde. He glanced to his right and noticed Selwyn make his way upstairs. On a whim, he decided he would follow his friend to thank him for the invitation.

"Hey, wait up!" Scorpius slurred as he reached the tall, curly-haired brunette at the top of the stairs.

Selwyn turned around. "What's up, mate?"

Scorpius leaned against the wall for balance. "I just, er, wanted to thank you. I needed tonight."

Selwyn smiled at Scorpius. "No problem, Malfoy." Then his face shifted to a concerned expression. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just my mum. Long story," Scorpius replied, waving a dismissing hand. He glanced around the hallway and a certain photo caught his eye. Scorpius squinted at the photo, recognizing two familiar faces. Then he went toward the photo and his heart sank to his feet and he staggered backwards. "Wh-what is this?" He shakily asked, pointing at the photo.

Selwyn, who had followed Scorpius to see what he was looking at, glanced at the photo. The photo showed Aria Selwyn and Ezekiel Byrnes together, smiling at each other. It then dawned on Selwyn why Scorpius was suddenly so upset. "Oh, fuck, I'm sorry. I forgot this was even up here!" He immediately took the photo off the wall and set it face down on a nearby side table.

Scorpius felt faint so he held onto the wall with one hand for support. A savage expression appeared upon his face as he glared at Selwyn. He slowly and icily asked, "Why does my father's murderer have his arm around your mother?"

Selwyn shifted from side to side, feeling uneasy. "Look, I can explain," he said.

Scorpius whipped out his wand and pointed it at Selwyn, walking closer to the Slytherin. "Explain, or I swear to Merlin I will hex you!"

"My mother used to date him a long time ago, way before what happened with your dad," Selwyn quickly explained. "I thought she'd taken this down years ago. I don't know why the photo is here."

Scorpius' head was spinning, and the alcohol wasn't helping matters any. He couldn't think clearly. All he knew was that he felt betrayed at this moment. "You set this up!" He accused Selwyn. "You tried to be friends with me because you're working with Byrnes! You, your mother, and your friends – you're all trying to finish what you started!" Breathing hard, Scorpius wanted to punch a hole in Selwyn's face. That, or disappear forever.

"You're being ridiculous, Scorpius! I'm not conspiring against you," Selwyn defended himself.

But his mind told him something completely different. Why else would Selwyn try so hard to get close to him? It all made sense! Scorpius roughly pushed Selwyn. "I can't believe I fucking trusted you!"

"We're friends. I didn't do anything wrong!" Selwyn shouted, shoving Scorpius back.

Scorpius turned away from Selwyn and ran downstairs and out the door. He had to get away from all this. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. He reached in his pocket for the two-way mirror and prayed Albus would hear him.

"Albus? Albus, are you there? I need you." Scorpius said into the mirror.

Back at the Potter house, Albus stirred in his sleep, vaguely hearing someone talking to him. _"Albus, pick up, please!" _Groaning, Albus reluctantly opened his eyes and turned on the lamp, surprised to find no one was there. "Scorpius?" He asked aloud. Then he remembered Scorpius had taken the two-mirror with him. Albus went over to his desk and picked up the small, square mirror. Sure enough, there was Scorpius, who looked more distressed than usual.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked into the mirror.

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Albus' voice. "I need to go home right now."

Albus was about to tell Scorpius to use the broom until he noticed that Scorpius was drunk. Sighing, Albus said, "Fine, but I'll have to wake up my parents and we'll both be in trouble."

Scorpius' head began spinning again. "Please, just hurry," he pleaded.

Albus sensed something was definitely wrong so he said, "Okay, hang tight. I'll be right there." He set the mirror back on the desk and quietly walked into his parents' room. He didn't know where Selwyn lived so he couldn't fly there.

"Mum? Dad? I need your help." He softly said, yet loudly enough for them to hear him.

Harry stirred in his sleep, but then woke up. He glanced over the bed and saw Albus standing there. "What is it?" He tiredly asked.

"I need you to pick up Scorpius. He's at a party," Albus bluntly stated.

Harry sat up in bed, a perplexed expression crossing his features. "A party?" He startlingly questioned, getting up and grabbing his bathrobe.

Albus walked out of the room and Harry followed, closing the door behind him. "Why is Scorpius at a party?"

"His friend invited him. I tried to stop him, but he insisted on going," Albus explained.

"And he needs to get home?" Harry asked, yawning.

Albus nodded. "I'm really sorry about this, Dad."

Harry walked downstairs and looked at the clock. "It's nearly two a.m., Al. Why'd you let him go to a party?"

Albus glanced down at the floor and shrugged. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Harry put on his coat and shoes then asked his son, "Where is this party?"

"Number five, Coswell Avenue, I think," Albus said, trying to remember what Scorpius had told him.

"Okay, stay here. I'll be back shortly," Harry said. Then he apparated to Selwyn's house. He instantly found Scorpius huddled on the porch steps. "Scorpius," he called out.

Scorpius looked up and spotted Harry. He wiped away his tears as he walked toward the man. "I'm really sorry. Thank you."

Harry's eyes widened as he smelled the alcohol on Scorpius' breath. He noticed Scorpius had been crying, and he wondered what had happened. "Let's get you home," he said, taking Scorpius' hand, deciding against his better judgment not to lecture the boy.

After apparating back home, Harry helped Scorpius inside. Albus, who had waited in the foyer area for them, asked as soon as they entered through the door, "What happened?"

Scorpius buried himself in Albus' chest, hugging the fifth-year boy. "I saw a picture of Selwyn's mum and Byrnes together. Selwyn betrayed me. He was never my friend." His voice wavered, and he struggled to keep the anger down. He was furious with himself for not hexing Selwyn back there, even if it meant he'd be expelled.

"Wait, slow down, Scorpius," Harry said. "Are you saying Aria Selwyn is involved with this?"

Scorpius nodded, getting worked up all over again. Because he was so upset and quite intoxicated, Scorpius felt a rumbling in his stomach. Before he knew it, he puked on the floor. Albus held onto Scorpius in case he passed out.

"I'll clean this up," Harry said, sighing. "You get him to bed and lay him down on his side."

Albus nodded as he put Scorpius' arm over his shoulder. "Dad, do you really think Mrs. Selwyn had something to do with all this?"

Harry frowned as he waved his wand over the mess on the floor, making the puke disappear. "I'm not sure what to think. I've been keeping an eye on her, and everything seems normal so far. But, this isn't the time to talk about this.

Albus nodded, his eyebrows pinched together. Bidding his dad goodnight, he helped Scorpius upstairs and put him to bed. Personally, he was a little surprised that Scorpius was drunk after going through everything with his mother. But, maybe being drunk for a night was what he needed. Albus kissed Scorpius goodnight and got in bed with him. He protectively wrapped his arm around Scorpius and closed his eyes.

* * *

**Aw, things don't seem to be looking up for the Malfoys :( Tell me what you think about this chapter...any speculations about Selwyn and that photo? Reactions to Pince trying to get with Scorpius? I'd love to hear from you guys!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Back from spring break - it was definitely needed! And now it's Friday, Friday, Friday (as that annoying Rebecca Black song goes...ugh, haha)**

**This chapter was a tad shorter than the last few have been, but it had to be this way. I think you'll still enjoy it though; I had fun writing it!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I greatly appreciate it - they keep me motivated and help me to become a better writer. So, don't stop now! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters...the totally awesome J.K Rowling does! (I'm seriously running out of adjectives)**

* * *

Chapter 16

Scorpius sat at the Slytherin table on the opposite end of where Selwyn and his friends sat. He and everyone else had just arrived back at Hogwarts from Christmas break. It was two days after the party and Scorpius still wasn't sure what to think about Selwyn. Harry had told Scorpius he would keep an eye on things, but there wasn't much he could do because the case was closed. Scorpius was thankful Harry didn't lecture him too badly about sneaking out and drinking. However, his stupidity that night made for an awkward goodbye with Albus' parents the next morning.

Now break was over and Scorpius had to face reality especially with the possibility of his and Albus' relationship going public. Oddly enough, Scorpius was more afraid of sleeping next to Selwyn's bed than what people said or thought about his being gay.

After dinner, Scorpius headed to the Slytherin common room with the other Slytherins. Once there, he immediately retired to the boys dormitory and plopped down on his bed, not wanting to talk to anyone. A few minutes later, Selwyn hesitantly walked in.

"Er, I think we should talk about what happened," Selwyn uncomfortably said as he closed the door and sat down on his bed, facing Scorpius.

Scorpius sniffed and turned away. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Look, this is a huge misunderstanding. I'm not conspiring against you. No one is."

"Leave me alone," Scorpius coldly stated.

But Selwyn persisted. "You need to know the truth."

Figuring he wasn't going to be left alone anytime soon, Scorpius turned back around and sat up. "What game are you playing at?" He questioned, his suspicious eyes narrowed in thin slits.

"I-nothing!" Selwyn exclaimed, feeling taken aback by the question. "Mum and I didn't do anything, I promise!"

"Then how do you explain that photo?" Scorpius practically shouted.

Breathing in deeply to keep calm, Selwyn explained, "I asked Mum about it and she said she threw it out years ago. We don't know how it got there. Honest, we're as freaked out as you."

Scorpius stared at Selwyn for a long time, still unsure of what to think. Finally, he harshly said, "I'm really tired. Don't talk to me anymore." Then he turned around on his side and closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep.

The next morning, Scorpius got dressed and headed to breakfast. As he approached the Great Hall, he spotted Albus lingering in the doorway.

"Waiting for someone?" He asked the Gryffindor.

"You," Albus replied.

A smile twitched upon Scorpius' lips. "How long have you been waiting?" Had he known this, he would have gotten dressed more quickly.

"Just a few minutes. I noticed you weren't at your table yet." Albus casually flicked a piece of lint off his robe as he asked, "Want to sit with me at breakfast?"

The twitching lips broke out in a full smile. "Sure," he answered. _Anything to get away from Selwyn and his friends,_ he thought. Then Scorpius' eyebrows knitted together as he asked, "Wait, will everyone be okay with that?" It wasn't that he cared what people thought of his sitting at the Gryffindor table; he was more concerned with certain Gryffindors throwing food or spells at his head.

Sensing what Scorpius meant, Albus reassuringly said, "James won't do anything and neither will the others. If they do, they'll answer to me." He said the last part with a smile. Albus had stayed up late last night in his bed thinking about going public with his relationship with Scorpius. After an hour of thinking, Albus came to the conclusion that he was okay with people knowing he was gay. He had Scorpius, his friends, and his family – quite frankly, no one else mattered that much to him. So, Albus held Scorpius' hand and confidently marched into the Great Hall toward the Gryffindor table.

Scorpius glanced down at the intertwined hands and admired Albus' audacity. He took a seat next to Albus, sitting across from Rose and Louis.

Almost immediately, whispers could be heard throughout the Great Hall. Everyone was speculating why Scorpius and Albus, who were perceived to be enemies, were holding hands. Everyone wanted to know why Scorpius Malfoy was sitting at the Gryffindor table. But these whispers did not deter the fifth-year boys. They simply ate their food and chatted in peace, ignoring the points and stares.

After swallowing a piece of a strawberry jelly-filled donut, Scorpius said, "Selwyn tried to talk to me last night. He said his mum didn't know how that photo got there."

Albus looked at Scorpius thoughtfully and asked, "Do you believe him?"

Scorpius took his time to answer that question. He wanted to believe Selwyn, but after the nightmares and everything that had happened, he couldn't bring himself to trust the guy anymore. "I don't know," he finally said. "It's still too weird to be a coincidence."

"You shouldn't do anything yet, just in case," Rose said, ever the practical one.

"Hold on a second," Louis spoke up, "Am I missing something here? What's going on?"

Scorpius glanced questioningly at Albus, wondering if they should fill in Louis.

"You can trust him," Albus quietly told Scorpius.

Nodding slightly, Scorpius turned his attention back to Louis and told the Weasley about Selwyn, the party, and the nightmare he had that involved Selwyn's mum.

(

Later that evening after classes, Albus sat on the couch by the fireplace, getting a head start on his Muggle Studies homework. He had to write about a Muggle invention, which was an easy topic because his grandfather had told him countless times about when he first used a telephone.

Midway through writing his paper, Albus felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, surprised to see Beth Finnigan standing three feet away from him.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, plopping down on the seat next to him.

"Er, hi, Beth," Albus greeted, feeling a little confused as to why she was talking to him. After all, she had completely stopped talking to him and his friends after he told her he didn't have any romantic feelings for her. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not!" Beth said, tossing her (blonde) hair over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately. I was pretty mad at you, but I'm not angry anymore."

"Oh, that's good," Albus said. _It's about time. Four months is a long time to be mad at someone_, he thought. Setting his parchment and quill on the ground by his feet and turning to face Beth, Albus added, "I'm sorry about ending it like that. I realize I could have gone about things more nicely."

Beth waved a dismissive hand. "It's water under the bridge. That's what me mum always says."

Albus nodded, though not completely understanding the expression, He figured it must be a Muggle expression considering Mr. Finnigan had married a Muggle. "So how've you been?"

"Great!" She exclaimed. "I went to Scotland over break. And me and McLaggen have been getting on well."

Albus struggled not to make a face at Beth liking McLaggen. _He's such a tool! _Then again, Albus was glad she had moved on from him. "That's good," he said with a small grin.

Beth nodded then leaned closer toward him, a hopeful expression upon her face. "So is it true about you and Scorpius?"

"Hm?" Albus asked, taken aback by her rather blunt question. Word about him and Scorpius had travelled faster than either boy had anticipated today. Many people guessed, but few knew the truth about them. Albus knew if he told Beth, who was a notorious blabbermouth, everyone would find about Scorpius and his dating each other in a matter of days.

"Are you dating?" Beth clarified.

Well, here went nothing. "Yes," Albus confirmed.

A sigh of relief escaped from Beth's mouth. "I'm surprised you chose Scorpius. I thought you didn't like him."

"I was wrong before," Albus pointedly said.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Beth said, smiling at him. Just as Albus was about to say thank you, she continued, "All along, I could not figure out why you didn't like me. I thought maybe there was something about me or something I did wrong. But you like blokes, and I can't help I'm a girl!"

In the back of his mind, Albus wondered if this were the reason why Beth began talking to him again – because he was gay. "There's nothing wrong with you," Albus politely but sincerely told her.

Beth grinned and hugged Albus. "Thanks, Al! I'm sure we'll be great friends now!"

Albus chuckled at how little tact Beth had as he hugged her back. "I'm sure we will," he said, crookedly grinning to himself.

(

The following couple of weeks soon fell into a routine. The hype about Albus and Scorpius dating was quieter after the initial shock. No one had officially confronted them yet, which was probably because they were Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy; apparently no one dared say something offensive or off-hand to either boy. There were still stares and outraged whispers, but the two boys quickly learned to block them out. Scorpius ate all meals at the Gryffindor table with Albus. At first, the Gryffindors were put-off by a Slytherin eating with them, but they slowly began to warm up to him. The Potions lessons still took place every couple days in the library. However, not much got accomplished because the two boys spent the majority of that time making out in the back of the library.

All in all, life was really good for Scorpius. He pretended everything with Selwyn hadn't happened, and he couldn't be happier. He avoided Selwyn and his friends as best as he could; whenever he spotted them, he turned the other way and briskly walked in the opposite direction. He figured they were probably put-off by his being out of the closet, which was evident in the impending stares they gave him each time they saw him. But, he still wasn't ready to deal with that mess yet. He had Albus, Rose, Lily, and Louis (who was still obnoxious, unfortunately); that was enough for him.

One Tuesday morning at breakfast, Scorpius watched the owls fly in, packages or letters tied to their legs. To his great surprise, his Great-Horned owl landed next to him. Scorpius never received letters, and he'd already gotten his annual letter from his mum. Instantly, he wondered if something bad had happened to her. As he untied the red, smoking envelope and stroked his owl's fur, Scorpius glanced at the return address, his jaw dropping from seeing Lucius Malfoy's name. _This can't be good_, he silently thought to himself.

Scorpius opened the envelope and the red letter hovered in the air, inches in front of his nose. He'd gotten a howler.

A male's voice, magnified for effect, screamed:

_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you are a disgrace to the Malfoy name! No grandson of mine will be dating a Potter. What's worse, I had to find out that you are dating a boy! I will not have a homosexual contaminating this pureblooded family. You are a filthy waste of space, and I hereby forbid you from any part of the Malfoy fortune. It's no wonder your mother went insane. She probably can't stand the sight of you. Your father is turning in his grave right now from the disappointment –_

Having heard enough, Scorpius ferociously tore up the howler, glowering with rage. The whole room had gone silent and all eyes were on him. Scorpius bolted out of the Great Hall, his chest heaving with anger and embarrassment. _I didn't get one fucking present from him, but I get a howler of all things! What a piece of shit! _A string of obscenities for his grandfather entered his mind as he leaned against the wall and gritted his teeth to keep from doing something he'd regret.

Albus soon entered the hallway and found Scorpius physically shaking. He quickly went over to the Slytherin and hugged him. "That was awful."

Scorpius stood there, his hands at his sides. "He only cares when I'm doing something wrong. I hate him so much! My dad would have never said those things. He would have been happy for me!"

Albus parted from Scorpius and placed his hands on the other boy's shoulders, looking him square in the eye. "So don't let Lucius ruin your happiness. He's an ignorant asshole," Albus sincerely said.

Scorpius slowly nodded, trying to calm down. "I know. I shouldn't let him get to me. What a fucking bastard!" He had never been close with his grandfather because his dad and Lucius' relationship was strained and almost non-existent. So it was all the more infuriating that Lucius had the audacity to say he was a disgrace to the Malfoy name.

"I guess things aren't going to be as easy as we thought," Albus speculated.

Scorpius squeezed Albus' hand and gave a small smile. "We'll be fine," he softly said. _I hope so, anyway. _He was still feeling overwhelmed and angry, but maybe he just needed to cool down. "I think I'm going to head to class early."

Albus nodded, biting his lip. "Okay," he said.

"Thanks, though," Scorpius said, giving his boyfriend a hug and a peck on the cheek before walking down the hallway.

(

After morning classes, Scorpius made his way to the Great Hall for lunch. He'd gone back and forth wondering if he should skip lunch or face the whole school after what happened at breakfast. But, he didn't want to be a coward and hide from everyone because his grandfather humiliated him, so he decided to eat lunch with everyone else.

On his way to the Great Hall, someone roughly shoved into his shoulder and Scorpius staggered forward. He whipped around to tell off the culprit, not at all surprised to see it was James.

"Watch where you're going!" James spat, his brown eyes in mean slits.

"You shoved into me, prick!" Scorpius exclaimed, his own silver eyes just as cold. He tried to walk ahead, not wanting to start a scene, but James grabbed his arm and yanked him back. Then James got into Scorpius' face and ordered, "Stay away from Albus. In fact, stay away from my whole family. They only pity you, you know. You are a waste of space, just like your grandfather said."

Scorpius' eyes narrowed. He wanted so much to punch James again, but there were people around. He was definitely not in the mood for a duel. Sharply huffing out his nose, Scorpius tried to go around James once more, but James blocked him. A crowd was forming around them, hoping to see a fight.

"Don't leave when I'm talking to you, Malfoy. We're not finished yet," James sneered. He clearly enjoyed the attention he was suddenly getting.

However, Scorpius was anything but amused. He would have had no qualms about kicking James' ass if he didn't know Albus wouldn't be pleased. It took all he had not to fight him and to say, "Goodbye, James." Scorpius shoved James to get past.

But, James wasn't finished yet with this spectacle. He whipped out his wand and exclaimed, "_Everte Statum_!"

Scorpius, who had his back turned to James, flew up and twisted in the air, then roughly landed on the ground near the Great Hall entrance. "What the hell?" He blurted out, wondering what had just happened. Then he glanced over at James who had a pronounced smirk upon his face. "Are you crazy?" He yelled, getting up from the floor.

By now, more and more people had gathered around to watch them. A few of the boys were chanting, "Duel! Duel! Duel!"

"Fight back!" James commanded, grinning wickedly to himself, as he inched closer and closer to where Scorpius stood.

Scorpius debated whether he should give in or run into the Great Hall where the teachers sat. But, he didn't want to look like a coward. Plus, all of the pent-up frustration he had been harboring all day was bursting inside of him, ready to be let out. So, he shouted a jelly-legs jinx, but James dodged it. Then James shot another spell toward Scorpius, which he avoided by dropping to the ground.

Scorpius dodged James again then shouted, "_Immobulus_!" James immediately froze into place. The crowd whooped and jeered. Unfortunately, by this time, their duel had attracted so much attention that Headmistress McGonagall, who had been peacefully eating her lunch in the Great Hall, rushed into the hallway to see what was happening. She entered just as Scorpius cast his spell.

"What on earth is going on here?" Her voice echoed throughout the halls.

Scorpius turned and dropped his wand at the sight of her, raising his hands up in an innocent fashion.

McGonagall went over to James and cast the counter spell on him. He unfroze and staggered backwards. He was about to cast another spell at Scorpius until he noticed McGonagall to the right of him. He gave her a sheepish smile.

"Disperse, all of you!" She said to the crowd of people. Then, looking at James and Scorpius, she added, "Detention and fifty house points from each of you."

James frowned and Scorpius glowered at him. He'd never gotten detention before. James, on the other hand, was a seasoned expert at getting detentions. He was more upset that he didn't do any real harm to Scorpius.

"Both of you return to your houses at once," She ordered before heading back into the Great Hall.

Scorpius rammed into James' shoulder as he walked past, saying, "Thanks a lot, arse."

"Happy to be of service, twat," James sarcastically said, a mocking smile present on his face.

* * *

**Come on, you all knew a duel had to happen eventually between a Potter and a Malfoy. :D I love writing duels, haha.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think in a review. Love it? Hate it?**

**Those who review will get delicious chocolate chip cupcakes!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry that this took me longer than intended. The last couple of weeks have been crazy with midterms and stuff...and I also got the new Sims game so I've been playing that instead of writing fanfiction. Anyway, it's up now...and I hope you like the chapter despite how short it is. There's also not much AS/S action, but this chapter is essential to the plot.**

**Also! I've been meaning to mention this: I'M SO HAPPY I HAVE 100+ REVIEWS! THAAANK YOU SO MUCH! Ahem. Yeah, I was excited. And keep up the reviewing! It seriously makes me motivated.**

**I didn't expect this story to be so long when I had first mapped it out. But, I'm really happy with the direction in which it's going. And the story is far from being over, which I hope is good news for you guys to hear haha**

* * *

Chapter 17

The following day, Scorpius reluctantly got out of bed and got dressed. Ten minutes later, he made his way to the Commons to head to breakfast. As he approached the door, three bodies blocked his path. Selwyn, Monroe, and Pince stared at him.

Scorpius scowled, folding his arms across his chest. "You're ambushing me now?"

"There's no other way to talk to you. You avoid us any chance you get!" Selwyn exasperatedly said.

Scorpius glanced from Monroe to Pince to Selwyn. "And you need them to talk to me?" He questioned, still scowling. Not waiting for answer, Scorpius tried to move around Monroe, but Monroe side-stepped to block him.

Scorpius glared at them and huffed. "Get out of my way," he sharply demanded.

But none of the boys budged.

"Scorpius, this is getting ridiculous. I only want to talk to you," Selwyn said in a calmer voice.

"You're talking to me now," Scorpius dryly stated.

"About what happened at New Year's," Selwyn softly said.

Scorpius held up a hand. "No, I don't want to hear it." He was done with Selwyn constantly trying to explain himself and that night. Scorpius was trying to move past that and focus on his life with his friends – and that didn't include Selwyn and his pals. He took one last look at Selwyn then turned around and started heading back to the dormitory, not having an appetite for breakfast today.

Letting out a sigh, Selwyn said, "Come on, let's go," as he turned around to head out of the Commons. But not before Pince called out, "So is it true about you and the Potter boy?"

Scorpius stopped mid-step. He slowly turned around, a hardened expression upon his face. "What's it to you?" He coldly spoke.

Pince casually shrugged, an odd smile upon his lips, as he said, "You deserve someone better, is all." He gave Scorpius a quick wink then exited out the door with his friends.

(

Albus strode over to where James sat in the Great Hall. "Why did you do that, James?" He practically shouted.

James turned away from his friends, smiling, and asked his little brother, "Why'd I do what?" Taking note of Albus' red face, he chuckled and added, "Mate, calm down!"

Albus punched James in the shoulder. "You got in a fight with Scorpius! Why?"

James shrugged, his smile disappearing from his face. "I felt like it?" A few of his friends snickered and Fred gave James a friendly pat on the back.

But Albus was not amused. "You're vile."

James stood up and looked Albus square in the eye. "Don't be such a girl, Al. I'm trying to look out for you! You want to date blokes, be my guest. But why the hell would you date _Malfoy_?"

Glaring at his older brother, Albus angrily exclaimed, "The hell you're looking out for me! You're being an immature bastard!" He turned away, about to stalk off, until he needed to let one more thing off his chest. Facing James again, he added, "And it shouldn't matter what I do with Scorpius. Stop ruining everything and stay out of my business!" Now he stalked away, cursing expletives under his breath.

(

To say that Scorpius was not looking forward to his morning class, Herbology, was an understatement. He would rather not face any Slytherins today – one in particular. The worst part was he wouldn't see Albus until after lunch so he was stuck. Needless to say, Scorpius stood at the opposite end where Selwyn and Rowle stood.

About forty-five minutes in class, Filch barged into the greenhouse. Panting hard, it took Filch awhile before speaking. After everyone stared expectantly and impatiently at the graying man for a good minute, Filch finally croaked, "Headmistress McGonagall needs to see Bryce Selwyn and Scorpius Malfoy in her office."

Scorpius stiffened as he wondered what the hell McGonagall wanted. He hoped he wasn't in trouble for the second time this week. Having one detention was bad enough.

Apparently, Selwyn wondered the same thing because he had a perplexed and slightly unnerved expression upon his face.

The walk to McGonagall's office seemed to take forever, and it didn't really help that Filch walked as slow as a turtle.

But finally, the two boys went up the stairs that led to her office. To both Scorpius and Selwyn's surprise, they spotted Harry Potter standing next to Professor McGonagall.

"Er, what's going on?" Scorpius slowly spoke.

A grave expression upon her face, McGonagall said, "Please, take a seat," as she motioned for them to sit in the two chairs opposite her desk.

Scorpius and Selwyn did as they were told and sat down, glancing anxiously from Harry to Professor McGonagall.

McGonagall was the first to speak. "Bryce, I'm afraid your mother has been attacked."

Selwyn's eyes widened, unsure if he had heard her correctly. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"She was found lying unconscious on the floor of her Apothecary this morning," McGonagall continued. "She suffers from minor internal injuries and is at St. Mungo's right now."

"From the state of the Apothecary, it looks like someone tried to use the killing curse on your mother, but missed," Harry solemnly chimed in.

Selwyn sank into his seat and anxiously ran his fingers through his curly brown hair. His heart racing, he asked, "But she's okay, right?"

McGonagall nodded. "Yes, she will recover in time. I can take you to St. Mungo's this weekend to visit her."

Selwyn nodded, mumbling a thank you.

Scorpius sat in stunned silence. He suddenly felt guilty for being rude to Selwyn these past couple of weeks. As he listened to the others talk, Scorpius wasn't exactly sure why he was here. He felt as though he was intruding in Selwyn's privacy. "Er, what does this have to do with me?" He softly asked.

Harry gave a long look toward Scorpius before explaining. "We have reason to believe this attack is in connection with your father's murder. Therefore, your case has been re-opened."

Scorpius and Selwyn exchanged confused looks. Then Scorpius said, "But the Aurors locked up Byrnes. How is that possible?"

"I don't think Ezekiel Byrnes was working alone," Harry uneasily said.

"What?" Scorpius exclaimed, shooting out of his seat. "Did this bit of information slip your mind that you forgot to mention it to me?" He knew he was being rude, but his head suddenly swarmed with rage and fear that he couldn't think straight.

Harry calmly answered, "The attacker left the same item at the Apothecary that was outside your house." He held up a plastic bag marked 'EVIDENCE' which had a burnt Death Eater mask inside.

Scorpius' heart sank. He remembered seeing the same burnt mask that had lied beside his father.

"But how are we connected?" Selwyn shakily asked. "Why did this happen?"

"I have a theory," Harry said. "Both of your family lineages had Death Eaters, and both Draco and Aria knew Ezekiel. I'm guessing that's where the connection comes from. Beyond that, we don't know much else."

"I'm very sorry this has happened," McGonagall gently spoke. "We will keep an eye on both of you, but for right now Hogwarts is the safest place you can be."

Harry nodded. "If you two have any other concerns, please feel free to write me. But, I must return to my office now," he said.

After exchanging goodbyes and consoling words, Selwyn and Scorpius left McGonagall's office. Once downstairs, Selwyn leaned his head against the stone wall and sighed. "I can't believe this."

Scorpius shifted from side to side, feeling the need to say something. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry about avoiding you. I was just confused."

Selwyn turned to Scorpius and nodded. "Don't worry about it."

"We'll catch them," Scorpius said, "The people responsible for this."

Selwyn looked Scorpius in the eyes and tenaciously stated, "I want revenge."

"Me too," Scorpius declared. He wanted this whole thing to be over so he could get on with his life. He would make sure no else felt the wretched grief he had experienced from losing his father.

(

The rest of the day was a slow blur for Scorpius. All he could think about was Selwyn's mom had almost been killed by possibly the same people responsible for his father's death. Scorpius couldn't help but wonder what the connection was between the two adults. He also worried for his own mother's safety.

So, when evening came, Scorpius had almost forgotten he had detention with James tonight. He cursed the Gryffindor because he had expected to use this time to conspire with Selwyn about what was going on.

Scorpius headed to Hagrid's hut, where his detention took place, around seven. Once he reached the small house, he found Hagrid and James already inside, laughing about something.

"Let's get this over with," Scorpius said, grimacing at the sight of James.

Hagrid looked up from his pint of ale and said, "I was wonderin' when ye would show up."

James looked up as well and frowned at Scorpius, his carefree mood vanishing.

Standing up and putting a leash on Fang, who seemed quite content napping on the floor, Hagrid addressed the two boys. "There's been a change in plans. Given the circumstances, Fang and me will go inter the forest while ye lot clean out the barn. An' magic is forbidden."

Scorpius' grimace deepened. He did not like the idea of spending the whole evening cleaning by hand. From the look on James' face, he wasn't so keen on that idea either.

"Righ' then, best be on yer way. I'll see ye in an hour," Hagrid said before leaving with Fang to the Forbidden Forest.

James and Scorpius made their way to the barn and simultaneously sighed at the amount of dust and grime present. Two buckets of water with sponges lied near the door.

"This is all your fault," Scorpius snidely remarked. "If you hadn't been so stupid, we wouldn't be spending an entire evening together."

"Maybe you should stay away from Al, then," James casually said as he reached inside one of the buckets to grab a sponge.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond. He wasn't in the mood to argue more. So, he grabbed a sponge and set to wipe the grime off the back wall, clearing out various boxes and cages that were in his way.

The two boys worked in a tense silence for almost ten minutes before James decided to speak up again. "What'd Hagrid mean by 'given the circumstances'?"

Scorpius shrugged in silence, though he knew exactly what Hagrid had meant. McGonagall had probably decided it was too dangerous to be in the Forbidden Forest after the attack this morning, and Scorpius agreed. As much as he was worried about his mother, he was also worried the same attackers could get to him and Selwyn. Though Scorpius was ready to take the attackers on to get revenge, he wasn't sure he was skillfully ready. After all, he had no idea with whom he was dealing. But, he was determined to find out.

"Malfoy?" James asked, turning toward the Slytherin, breaking Scorpius out of his thoughts.

"What?" Scorpius snapped, whipping around to meet James' brown-eyed gaze.

James sat down on an empty crate and questioned, "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I did," Scorpius curtly stated.

James sighed and said, "Look, we're going to be here for awhile. You don't have to sulk in a corner and ignore me."

Scorpius stared at James as if he had three heads. "I don't understand you. This whole time you've hated me, but now you want me to act like we're best mates?"

Narrowing his eyes, James drawled, "No, I didn't say that. I just don't like silence."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said before turning back around to clean the wall.

Resting his chin on his hand, James stared at the back of Scorpius' blond head, still not done taking his break. "Why Albus? I didn't even think you two were friends."

Scorpius was quiet for a few moments. Still cleaning, he finally said, "I'm not a bad guy, Potter."

James stood up and fiddled with his damp sponge. "Eh, I guess," he half-heartedly said.

Turning around, Scorpius folded his arms across his chest and asked, "What the hell do you have against me?"

James shrugged, replying, "You're dating Albus. I'm supposed to hate you on principle."

"That's a load of bullshit," Scorpius countered. "You hated me before Al and I started dating."

James considered this and said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

Scorpius let out a frustrated sigh. "At least we can agree on something," he said humorlessly. He picked up the sponge and sharply added, "Albus makes me happy. I don't expect you to understand, but I'd appreciate it if you'd lay off me because I'm really not in the mood. There are bigger things happening than you having a pity party for yourself because you don't get your way."

James remained silent for a long time as he began cleaning the barn again. Scorpius figured he'd be silent for good, but after twenty minutes, James spoke up again, this time more quietly. "Is there something going on?"

Scorpius turned around and gave James an annoyed, questioning look.

"I heard my dad was here today," James softly said.

Scorpius scratched the back of his neck, wondering if he should tell James or not. He hadn't even had the chance to explain to Albus what was going on; they hadn't had a free moment to have a long, private conversation today. But, he figured James wouldn't stop questioning him until he said something.

"Er, yeah, he was," Scorpius began. "There was an attack. Bryce Selwyn's mum was attacked where she works and your dad thinks it has something to do with my dad's murder."

Confused, James asked, "Wait, what? I thought Ezekiel Byrnes was locked up."

"Turns out, he isn't the only one out for revenge. But I can't seem to figure out why he and whoever the hell else wants revenge," Scorpius muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Oh," James said, speechless. "Have you told Albus?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I haven't had time yet. Don't say anything."

James nodded then went back to cleaning. Scorpius did the same. They worked in silence the rest of the time. Once Hagrid returned, the barn looked almost cleaner than before. "Good thing, ye 'ave the week-end ter finish this," Hagrid remarked.

Scorpius inwardly groaned. He really didn't want to spend another evening with James. One evening was awful enough. Though, as they headed back to the castle, Scorpius wondered if he'd gotten through to James a little bit because of what the Gryffindor said next.

"Uh, Malfoy?" Feeling uncomfortable, James awkwardly said, "Er, I'm sorry for saying stuff about your father and you being a death eater." He concentrated on the ground, adding, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Dad."

Scorpius struggled to stifle a smile. "Er, thanks," he said, not knowing what else to say.

Glancing back at Scorpius, running a hand through his copper hair, James said, "But just because I apologized doesn't mean we're going to be mates or whatever. I just, you know, thought I, er, needed to."

Scorpius nodded in understanding. "That's fine by me," he said, feeling quite content with not being James' friend. Still, it was nice of the guy to apologize.

James cleared his throat and nodded as well. Once they reached the castle, the two mumbled awkward goodbyes and quickly parted ways.

* * *

**Hm, this story has taken a turn for the unexpected, wouldn't you say? Do you have any theories about what kind of motives the attacker(s) have against Draco and Aria? Or how it all connects? And what about James? I'd love to hear your thoughts so drop me a review! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks to GundamPilot03, L.A.H.H., Aline Daryen, and Waldojeffers for reviewing. You four always review and it makes me so happy :) I like getting reviews and constructive criticism because they are the best way to know who's reading and they better me as a writer.**

**Disclaimer: I realize I forgot to add a disclaimer in my last chapter. Sorry about that, but you all know I didn't write HP. J.K. Rowling did...and I am not her. I promise.**

* * *

Chapter 18

Scorpius and Albus met Saturday afternoon in the library for their usual Potions lesson. However, these two weren't talking about Potions today. Scorpius relayed to Albus what had happened to Selwyn's mum.

"I'm so sorry, Scorpius. That's awful," Albus said after Scorpius finished explaining. He hated that this wasn't over after Scorpius was finally beginning to make progress in moving on.

"Selwyn and I are going after the people responsible," Scorpius declared.

Albus frowned and was quiet for a few moments. "Shouldn't you leave that up to the Aurors?" He warily asked.

"No, they obviously haven't made much progress. No offense to your dad," Scorpius said.

Though Albus knew going after the guys who had no problems using the killing curse probably wasn't a good idea, Albus would support Scorpius no matter what. "Alright, count me in then."

"Really?" Scorpius asked, slightly shocked that Albus agreed to this.

Albus nodded. "You don't honestly think you and Selwyn can take them on yourselves, do you? We don't even know how many people are out there wanting to hurt –" Albus paused, a concerned look upon his face. "Wait, they don't want to hurt _you_, do they?"

Scorpius bit his lip and softly said, "I don't know. But I can't just sit here waiting to see if they attack or not."

Albus reached across the table to grab Scorpius' hands and gave them a comforting squeeze. "We should gather information to find out who we're dealing with."

"We can meet tomorrow on the lawn after my detention," Scorpius said. "You can bring Rose, Lily, and Louis. We'll be better prepared with more people."

An unsettling feeling plunged to the pit of his stomach. Albus felt as if he were preparing for a battle. He was only fifteen; he should be worrying about the upcoming O.W.L. exams, not searching for murderers. Deciding to change the subject for the time being, Albus asked, a small grin upon his face, "By the way, how was detention last night with James? He came back without a scratch, much to my surprise."

Chuckling, Scorpius replied, "We actually held a civil conversation. It was really weird."

Albus' eyes widened in shock. "This is James we're talking about, right?"

"I know; I was surprised too. It was probably just a fluke though," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, probably," Albus softly agreed. _Still, maybe he's getting it through his thick head that he's an ignorant twat,_ Albus silently mused.

"But enough about James," Scorpius brightly said, a smile forming upon his face. "We should end for today and head to the towers." He winked suggestively at Albus.

Sensing what Scorpius was insinuating, Albus grinned. "That is completely fine by me!"

So, the two boys gathered their books and headed for the towers. Once they found an empty corridor, they dropped their books and made sure no one would be coming this way. Wasting no time, Albus gently pushed Scorpius against the wall and crushed his lips on Scorpius' mouth.

Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus' waist, pulling the Gryffindor closer. His breath hitched as he kissed harder, savoring Albus' sweet taste.

Albus' hands moved up and down Scorpius' body in rhythm to his rapid heartbeat. He slid his tongue inside the Slytherin's mouth and explored the crevice. Simultaneously, Scorpius sucked on the pink tongue. After a few seconds, he slid his own tongue inside Albus' mouth. The two tongues danced around each other, performing figure eights.

Breathing in through his nose, Albus soon moved his lips to Scorpius' neck, pulling the collar down so he could suck on the pale flesh. Scorpius let out a soft groan of pleasure as he ran his fingers through Albus' short jet-black hair, breathing in the cedar scent from the shampoo.

Wanting more flesh, Albus loosened Scorpius' green tie then proceeded to take off the gray sweater. Scorpius lifted his arms to make it easier. Then, he did the same to Albus so that both boys were half-naked.

Grinning like mad, Scorpius stepped away from the wall and turned Albus so that the Gryffindor boy was against the stone; he wanted the control now. He moved his damp lips to Albus' torso and lapped at the nipple, sucking gently on it. As he did this, he slid his hands down Albus' pants and squeezed the butt, now causing Albus to moan in pleasure.

As Albus moved closer, feeling the boner from Scorpius' jeans on his own erection, he softly whispered in the Slytherin's ear, "I'm so glad you tutored me this year."

Scorpius grinned and wrapped his arms around Albus' waist, sparks of warmth rushing through his body. "You've no idea how much you helped me," he softly said. "I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't tutored you." Rarely did he ever express this much emotion through his words, but Scorpius was so grateful for Albus; he wanted the Gryffindor to know how much he meant to Scorpius.

Albus released from Scorpius' embrace momentarily to stare into the pale silver eyes. "I will always be here for you," he sincerely declared.

"Thank you," Scorpius murmured, "I'm glad you're mine." He kissed Albus' sore lips and smiled.

Albus grinned as well, kissing Scorpius back. "Everything will turn out okay in the end," he whispered once he broke apart from Scorpius' mouth, referring to Draco's case being re-opened.

Scorpius skipped a beat, slowly nodding as he stared into a pair of emerald eyes. "When you say it, I believe you." He wanted so badly for everything to be okay. And he knew that with Albus by his side, everything eventually would be.

Albus kissed Scorpius once more, then said, "We should probably head back."

Scorpius nodded again in agreement. After the boys gathered their books, Scorpius walked with Albus to Gryffindor Tower before leaving for the Slytherin common room.

(

After their final detention the following day, James and Scorpius headed back toward the castle. Scorpius was trying to concoct a fool-proof plan that would allow him to cross over to where everyone was waiting for him without James knowing. Although Scorpius had told James about the attack, he didn't want to spend more time than necessary with the Gryffindor by including him on the plans.

As the two boys neared the grounds, Scorpius said, "I'm going to hang out with Albus on the lawn so you can go ahead without me."

"Actually, I need to talk to him about Quidditch practice so I'll go with you," James said, unknowingly foiling Scorpius' plan.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and frowned. That was not the answer he had been expecting. "I can tell him for you," he offered, hoping James would say okay.

On the contrary, James firmly shook his head no. "This is strictly Gryffindor business."

Scorpius sighed, but continued to walk toward the lawn with James, mentally cursing himself for not thinking of a better plan.

Rose, Albus, Lily, and Louis all sat together on the lawn in a semi-circle away from everyone else. Approaching the group, James asked, "What's going on here?" Then he spotted Bryce Selwyn walking towards them and became even more confused.

"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Selwyn asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "You're right on time."

"Wait," James interjected. "Are you guys talking about the attacks?"

"He knows?" Selwyn asked Scorpius, feeling a little put off the amount of people – and more specifically, Gryffindors – here.

"It's not like it's a secret. It was in the Daily Prophet," James said matter-of-factly, sitting down next to Louis.

"James, what are you doing?" Albus asked.

"You're planning to fight these guys, right?" There was a collective nod around the circle. "Alright then. You're going to need my expertise."

"You're only a year older," Albus dryly pointed out.

"Exactly. And that means I am more skilled than you," James retorted. "Besides, since I'm not allowed to kick Malfoy's ass, I need to compensate."

"This isn't a game, James," Rose stated.

Exchanging looks with Selwyn, Scorpius figured the arguing would go on for hours if he didn't intervene. He still wasn't sure about including James, but he really needed to get down to business. So, he said, "Fine, you can stay."

But before Scorpius could begin talking, James ordered, "First, Lily, you can't be part of this."

"What? Why not?" Lily asked incredulously.

"You're thirteen and I'm not letting you fight," James stated.

"I can take care of myself! I'll be fine!" Lily shot back as she glared at her elder brother.

Albus gave a pleading look to Scorpius, as if to say 'Do something!' Nodding, Scorpius stated, "Lily won't fight with us, but that doesn't mean she won't be useful. She could, er, be lookout."

"Or I could fight," Lily muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

Nodding slightly, though not entirely excited about the idea, James remained quiet for the time being.

Addressing the group, Scorpius began, "We should go over what we already know. We know Byrnes and the burnt Death Eater masks are connected."

"But what's the motive?" Louis asked.

"Maybe there are people who really hated Death Eaters and decided to get revenge," Lily suggested.

James countered, "Most of the Wizarding community hated Death Eaters."

"That's what I don't get," Albus spoke up. "Why would they kill just like the Death Eaters did? And why now? It's been ages since the war."

Struggling to come up with an answer, Rose shrugged and said, "There must be something we're overlooking. Either someone is really angry or really power hungry."

"Wait, didn't my mum say she used to work with your dad, Scorpius?" Selwyn asked. "Could that have something to do with the connection to Byrnes?"

Scorpius was silent for a moment as all eyes stared expectantly at him. "I don't know where they worked, but I'm guessing they worked together when we were really young." He fell silent for another moment before adding, "I remember meeting Byrnes when I was six. When did your mum date him?"

"When I was nine," Selwyn answered. "They broke up months before I started my first-year." Then an odd look appeared upon Selwyn's face. "Mum opened her Apothecary store that October."

"So Byrnes must have had something to do with that job, too," Rose said. "Otherwise, why else would your mum have quit and started her own business?"

Scorpius bit his lip as he glanced across everyone's anxious faces. "We need to find out what they did and where they worked at."

Sighing, Selwyn said, "Damn, had I known, I would have asked Mum yesterday."

"How is she?" Rose suddenly asked Selwyn, her face full of concern.

Selwyn turned to his right and replied, "The Healers said she's doing better. I didn't talk to her much because the potion she took made her sleepy."

"We should tell my Dad about this," Albus spoke up. "He could find out where they worked."

"Al, don't be stupid," James said. "If Dad knew what we were planning to do, he'd flip out. Besides, we don't need the Aurors' help. We can do this on our own." He didn't know where Albus got his cautiousness; but for him, he was ready to finally get some action after all this schooling.

"I agree with James. The Aurors would put a stop to us, and they also wouldn't give us any information," Scorpius said.

"What if we wrote to Teddy?" Lily asked. "He's still in training and we could be cryptic."

Nodding, Louis said, "Yeah, we could ask Teddy to find out that information. I trust him enough not to tell the adults."

Scorpius drummed his fingers on the ground, thinking of the possibility. The one time he had met his only cousin, Teddy acted more like a kid than an adult. But Scorpius wasn't sure that was enough to trust Teddy with not snitching. Nonetheless, he said, "If you think that's a good idea, then fine. But be as vague as you possibly can."

"As long as Victoire doesn't read the letter, we'll be fine," Louis said, mentally making a note to write on the envelope in big letters: DON'T LET VICTOIRE READ. His elder sister was a huge worrywart, and more so now that she was pregnant.

"Alright, so we'll reconvene when we get a response," Scorpius said. "For now, everything that has been said between us stays between us. Nothing gets out."

Everyone collectively agreed as they got to their feet and prepared to leave. Albus wrapped an arm around Scorpius' waist and said with a smile, "You're a good leader."

Scorpius toothlessly grinned at Albus. "It feels good to be in charge again," he confessed. He hadn't led people since a few years ago when he was friends with Warrington and Zabini. It was nice to know that people could still listen to and obey him.

After everyone left the grounds, Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Selwyn lingered right inside the Hogwarts castle. As Albus and Scorpius talked amongst themselves, Rose and Selwyn struck up their own conversation.

"Bryce, right?" Rose shyly asked the curly-haired Slytherin.

Selwyn turned to face Rose and nodded.

"I'm glad your mum is doing better," she sincerely stated.

Selwyn smiled. "Me too," he said. "She's all I have."

A sympathetic look upon her face, Rose practically swooned on the inside from his sincere, albeit sappy, comment. Selwyn, however, realized how incredibly cheesy he had just sounded and grew red in the face. Nervously scratching the back of his neck, he quickly changed the subject. "So, er, your family is kind of crazy."

Laughing, Rose nodded in agreement. "And that wasn't even half of us! You should see us all together. It's mad."

"I don't doubt that," Selwyn said, grinning.

A hand tapped Selwyn's shoulder which caused the Slytherin to look to his right. He saw Scorpius standing next to him. "I'm heading to the common room before dinner. Coming?"

Selwyn nodded. Then he turned to Rose, a small smile upon his lips. "See you."

"Bye," Rose said, her cheeks suddenly flushed as she smiled as well.

After kissing Scorpius on the cheek, Albus headed up the stairs with Rose while Scorpius and Selwyn walked down the hallway.

* * *

**So, I understand that this chapter was short, but there wasn't much else I could put in this chapter. Next one will be much longer, promise! And I tried my best to make it as exciting as possible. I hope that came across. There was some much needed AS/S action, and I hope you all were satisfied with it. They're slowly being racier and doing more things...I think the sexual stuff is at a good pace. But, let me know if you agree or disagree. **

**And let me know what you thought about the chapter! Any thoughts about the group going after the bad guys? Pretty dangerous stuff! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm sorry you had to wait a month! I meant to get this chapter out last week. But, finals are finally over and it is officially summer! That means updates will be more frequent! The plan is to update once a week like I used to do...hopefully this all works out, haha. We're getting fairly close to the end, which is pretty exciting! I can't wait until the action gets started!**

**Thanks to Waldojeffers, L.A.H.H., ncislover1111, GundamPilot03, AlineDaryen, and ManicShine Inc for reviewing! I'm glad there are still people reading this story! And another thanks goes out to everyone who put this story on alert or favorites.**

**Disclaimer: I own not the H.P. characters...the (I'm-running-out-of-adjectives!) J.K. Rowling does!**

* * *

Chapter 19

_Scorpius lied on the dewy grass outside Hogwarts. It was nearly pitch black and the ground was damp, but he didn't mind. He knew he could possibly get in trouble for being out of bed after hours, but that thought didn't concern him tonight. He needed to be out here – to enjoy the peace and stillness. Scorpius closed his eyes and smiled, his faint breath barely audible. This was the most serene he had felt in a long time. Or, it would have been had he not heard voices a few yards away._

_At first, Scorpius tried to ignore the voices. They would not ruin this perfect moment. Unfortunately, the voices got louder, and now he could hear footsteps. Scorpius sensed the voices were right behind him. His body went still, but his mind was on high alert._

_"Think he's dead?" A male voice asked._

_"No, that would be too easy," Said another male voice, which was gruffer than the first._

_"When are we going to off him like we did his father?"_

_"Patience, son. Time is on our side."_

_"Sorry, Father._

_Scorpius' stomach filled with dread. He knew serenity was too good to be true. Simultaneously, Scorpius' eyes flew open as his hand instantly went into to his pocket to grab his wand._

_"Ah, you're awake," the gruffer voice said._

_Scorpius got to his feet and faced the two men. Their silhouettes were blurry and he couldn't make out the faces in the dark. "Who are you?" He asked them._

_"You know the answer to that question, Scorpius," the older man said._

_"Why are you doing this?" Scorpius asked, his hand tightly gripping his wand. _

_"We have no choice. You cannot stop us," the older man answered._

_Scorpius pointed his wand at the man and snarled. "Yes I can. My friends and I will stop you."_

_The younger man let out a loud, menacing laugh. "Then your friends will die along with you. And Albus will be the first."_

_"_Stupefy_!" Scorpius yelled at the younger man._

_"_Volo Recedo_!" The older man shouted at Scorpius._

_Scorpius flew backwards into a tree. He unsteadily got to his feet a few moments later. Then, he turned toward the castle and ran as fast as he could, screaming for help. But, the faster he ran, the farther the castle became._

_"Kill him!" A faint voice pierced the night._

_"No, not yet. But we will, son. We will get revenge."_

Scorpius shot up in his bed, his heart pounding violently in his chest. He rubbed his eyes and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Then Scorpius quickly shut his eyes to remember the faces, but the men were indistinguishable. This was the first nightmare he'd had in almost two weeks, and it felt more vivid than most. _Thank Merlin that was only a dream_, he thought as his breathing slowed.

He peered out of his curtain to see everyone else was still sleeping. Glancing at the clock, the clock read 5:23.

Deeply inhaling to slow his heartbeat, Scorpius shakily got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He leaned over the sink and splashed some water on his face. Looking into the mirror, Scorpius saw a pale, splotchy figure in front of him. His grey eyes seemed hollow and there were purple bags under his eyes. Running his fingers through his white-blond hair, Scorpius muttered aloud, "I look like shit."

Scorpius headed back into the dormitory to grab his toiletries, deciding to take a shower and clear his head. Once returning to the bathroom and stepping into the tub, Scorpius turned the water on and closed his eyes as the water lightly pricked his body. As much as it scared him, Scorpius wanted to savor every single memory of the dream.

(

Over a week had passed and there was no word yet from Teddy. This worried the group because they weren't sure if Teddy had received the letter. But no Potter or Weasley adult had contacted them either, which they took as a good sign.

Still, for the past six days, they anxiously watched the owls at breakfast to see if Teddy responded. They weren't sure if he would find out if Draco Malfoy had held any previous jobs or if he would call them crazy for even asking. Everyone figured the response could go either way.

Today, after breakfast (where yet again there was no response), Rose, Louis, and Albus walked back to the Gryffindor common room. A Hogsmeade trip was scheduled this afternoon,

and they needed to get ready. Rose wanted to finish her homework before then, however, to which Albus and Louis clearly objected.

As the three fifth-years entered through the portrait hole, Rose suddenly asked, "What do you guys think about Bryce?"

"Who?" Albus and Louis simultaneously questioned.

"Selwyn," Rose replied rather impatiently.

"Oh. I get a bad vibe from him," Louis spoke up first. "I don't trust him."

"Louis!" Albus and Rose chided.

Shrugging innocently, Louis asked, "What, you didn't want my honest opinion?"

Annoyed, Rose turned toward Albus and looked at him questioningly.

Albus responded, "At first I didn't care much for Selwyn, but I also didn't really know him. He seems like a nice guy, though." Albus studied Rose's face for a moment before asking, "Why do you ask?"

Rose tried to hide a smile and her cheeks flushed pink. "Just curious. I think he seems nice, too."

"You like him, don't you!" Louis exclaimed, groaning. "What is it with you two and Slytherin boys?"

Rose ducked her head, feeling the blush rise in her face. "I don't know, maybe," she quickly said, the smile unable to contain itself.

Albus grinned at his cousin. "That's great!" Then an idea popped into his head. "You should go to Hogsmeade with me and Scorpius. Selwyn will be there, too."

Rose's brown eyes lit up momentarily before slightly dimming. "Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude."

"That's never stopped you before," Albus said, giving a snort of laughter.

Rose widely grinned once she decided her cousin was right. Her face brightening again, she hurriedly said, "I should put on something nice to wear. Oh, this will take all morning!" Giving her cousin a hug, she said, "Thanks, Al!" Then, Rose practically sprinted up the stairs, forgetting all about her homework.

"I thought we were going to Hogsmeade together!" Louis said, pouting.

Albus grinned at Louis' over-dramatized expression. "You can tag-along."

Scoffing, Louis pointedly said, "I don't _tag-along_."

"Suit yourself," Albus said, his grin growing bigger, as he turned and started to walk toward the boys' dormitory.

"Alright, fine! I'll go!" Louis exasperatedly declared. "But only because you'd miss me if I didn't!"

Albus laughed aloud. "I would have been so lost without you!" He joked.

Louis smiled triumphantly. "See, this is why we're best friends," he genially said as he put his arm around Albus' shoulders. Then the boys set off to change into something warmer.

(

A few hours later, everyone who was of age gathered outside for the Hogsmeade trip. As Scorpius and Selwyn stood off to the side, searching for Albus, Selwyn asked, "Hey, are you sure you're okay, mate? You don't look too well."

Scorpius tore his eyes away from the crowd and focused them on Selwyn. He didn't want to worry anyone about the nightmare he'd had; but, in truth, he still couldn't shake it from his mind. It was all Scorpius had thought about at breakfast; he hadn't said one word. Scorpius pulled his black peacoat tighter around his waist and nodded, giving a small smile. "Yeah, just didn't get much sleep. Don't worry about it."

Before Selwyn could ask him anything more, Albus approached them with Rose and Louis in tow. Selwyn's eyes landed on Rose and his eyebrows widened in surprise. Rose wore tight-fitting pants and a pink V-neck sweater, and her usually curly fiery-red hair had been straightened. "You look nice," he softly said.

Rose smiled, blushing slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. "Thanks. So do you," she shyly replied.

Louis rolled his eyes, which earned a jab from Albus.

Scorpius tilted his head in concentration as he studied Rose and Selwyn. Then a realization dawned on him. He turned to Albus and whispered, "Do they like each other?"

Albus smiled and whispered back in Scorpius' ear, "I think so. I know Rose does."

"How cute," Scorpius said, amused.

"No one likes secrets," Louis spoke up, scowling at the two boys as he wondered if they were talking about him. He glanced behind him and saw that they were one of the last people still stationary. "Everyone's leaving, so let's go."

As Louis led the way, Scorpius and Albus talked amongst themselves a few paces behind everyone.

"I thought we could break off from the group, but I didn't want to leave Louis behind," Albus said.

"That's okay. I don't mind the company," Scorpius responded as he reached for Albus' hand to hold it. The two boys had slowly grown more confident in showing their public affection. They were still sometimes the subject of people's conversation, but for the most part the gossip mill had moved on.

Not having a particular destination in mind, the group decided to go to The Three Broomsticks for butterbeers. The restaurant was crowded with people because of the cold, but they eventually found a table near the back. Once everyone settled in their chairs, Selwyn announced, "I'll get the butterbeers." Then he weaved his way in and out of the crowd to place his order.

"Oh, I get so nervous around him!" Rose exclaimed as soon as he was gone and buried her face in her hands.

"I think he likes you," Scorpius sincerely told her.

Rose dropped her hands in her lap as she said, "Really?"

Scorpius firmly nodded.

"Your hair looks nice by the way, Rosie," Albus said.

Rose grinned at her cousins, even Louis who was frowning.

A few minutes later, Selwyn came back holding a tray of five drinks. Everyone reached for a mug and took a sip, smiling as the liquid warmed their insides.

"Don't we have a Potions exam this week?" Selwyn asked.

"Yeah, ours is this Tuesday," Rose replied.

"Wait, what?" Louis spoke up after almost spitting out the liquid in his mouth. "I don't remember this!"

"Well maybe if you paid attention in class," Rose scolded her cousin. "It's about memory potions."

"Shit, I'm not ready!" Louis exclaimed.

"Me neither," Albus said.

"You and Scorpius haven't had any more tutoring sessions?" Selwyn asked.

"Yeah, but we don't exactly study Potions," Albus said with a wink. Then he elbowed Scorpius and added, "Right, Scor?"

Scorpius glanced at Albus, wondering why he'd just been elbowed. "What?" He hadn't been paying attention to his friends for the past few minutes. Instead, he had focused on his nightmare and whether or not there was any truth to it.

"I said we aren't studying Potions anymore," Albus repeated. "Haven't you been listening?"

Scorpius took a sip of his butterbeer and shook his head. "Sorry, my mind's somewhere else."

Albus carefully stared at Scorpius and noticed for the first time the deep bags under his glazed gray eyes. Concern took over his face as he asked, "Did you have another nightmare last night?"

Scorpius frowned as he wondered if he should tell them about his nightmare. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, but it's not a big deal."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Albus asked.

"I don't want to whine to my boyfriend every time I have a bad dream," Scorpius said, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible. "I can handle them."

"What was this one about?" Selwyn questioned, intrigued.

Scorpius' frown deepened. He didn't want to worry anyone; he could just be paranoid. On the other hand, he couldn't shake an impending question that lingered in his mind. "Do you think it's possible for a student to be involved with the murders?"

There was a short pause as everyone processed what Scorpius meant. Rose was the first to speak. "As in a Hogwarts student could be responsible for the murders and attacks?"

Scorpius nodded, saying nothing.

"Is that what your dream was about?" Albus asked him, reaching to hold his hand.

Scorpius intertwined his fingers with Albus'. "I was alone outside Hogwarts and these two men stood next to me and talked about killing me. One was older, but one was a student here. I don't remember their faces."

"It's not like your dreams could have any truth to them unless you're a seer, which I highly doubt," Louis said, playing the devil's advocate.

"I know. I could just be paranoid," Scorpius defended, "but it felt so vivid. I'm just wondering if it could be possible."

Another short pause fell on the group. Selwyn ran his fingers through his curly brown hair and said, "If it is, then we should be wary of who to trust."

"I don't know any student here who could be capable of that. I don't think it's possible," Rose said.

Shrugging, Scorpius countered, "My dad trusted Byrnes and look what happened."

Albus shuddered as he thought about the possibility. Not trusting anyone else made everything that much scarier. He wondered if what they were doing were the best thing. Albus tried not to think about the potentially dangerous consequences, but the thought was always there in the back of his mind.

"I agree with Rose," Louis said. "I'm not going to stop talking to everyone outside this group because we have to be cautious, but I'm also not going to blab to everyone about our plans. We shouldn't be paranoid over nothing."

Scorpius deeply exhaled as he glanced at everyone's anxious faces. He didn't want to worry them over a nightmare he had. "You're right," he said. "My dream probably doesn't mean anything. We shouldn't get worked up over nothing, like Louis said."

That seemed to appease the table, and soon the conversation switched to a more lighthearted topic. Albus gently squeezed Scorpius' hand and whispered in his ear, "You won't be whining, you know. You can tell me anything."

Scorpius turned to Albus and gave him a quick smile. "I know. I'm sorry," he whispered back. He didn't like to complain, which was why he hadn't told Albus earlier. Scorpius also felt embarrassed that he was still having nightmares after all this time.

Soon after, the group finished their butterbeers and left The Three Broomsticks. After much prodding, Albus finally convinced everyone to visit Honeydukes before heading back to Hogwarts. After all, in his eyes, a Hogsmeade trip was nothing without some chocolate. So, thirty minutes later, the five fifth-years were back inside the warm castle. All in all, Scorpius was quite pleased with the trip. It took his mind somewhat off of his nightmare. Though, he still couldn't quite shake the feeling of being closely watched at Hogwarts. There was a burning feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him things were about to drastically change, and Scorpius wasn't sure he was ready.

* * *

**I was going to have more in this chapter, but I think I ended at the right spot. This just means I have a little bit already written for next chapter! Yay! Anyway, I really hope you all liked the chapter! Give me a review about your likes, dislikes, memorable quotes, etc. etc.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks to DarkestAngel13, KittyKnighton, L.A.H.H, Waldojeffers, AlineDaryen, GundamPilot03, and i love SULLY ABBY and JIMMY. There are some new faces who reviewed; that's always welcoming! Thanks for reviewing! Means a lot to me, seriously.**

**We are getting down to the wire in this mystery! This is an important chapter so read carefully :)**

**Disclaimer: I own not the H.P. characters...the ingenious J.K. Rowling does!**

* * *

Chapter 20

It was another week before they heard news from Teddy. On Friday, the letter everyone had desperately been waiting for arrived. Teddy's owl gracefully landed in front of Louis' plate. Louis gave Albus a knowing look and carefully untied the envelope from the owl's leg and fed the owl a few pieces of an English muffin.

"Let's wait to open it until we have everyone in a private place," Albus said.

"We could all go to the library after dinner," Rose offered.

Agreeing, Louis pocketed the envelope and immediately felt a heavy weight upon his shoulders. He was dying to know what the letter said, and he wasn't sure if he could wait until evening.

Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Selwyn had received an important letter of his own. He sat next to Scorpius with Monroe and Nott across from them. "It's from Mum," he said, opening the envelope.

Scorpius glanced at Selwyn and felt a twinge of jealousy from not receiving a letter from his Mum. It had been over a month since she was admitted to St. Mungo's, and he hadn't gotten one letter. Scorpius tried not to worry, though. He knew she was in good hands.

After reading it silently to himself, Selwyn pocketed the letter and turned to Scorpius. "She wants me to visit tomorrow afternoon for tea before they release her," he said. "Mum says you're welcome to join and that she'll see if you can visit Astoria."

Scorpius grinned, a small sigh of relief floating out of him. "Okay, that sounds great."

Selwyn nodded. "Maybe we could ask her about you-know-what," he whispered, careful not to let Monroe and Nott, who were listening, hear him.

"Good," Scorpius said. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Aria Selwyn, and he hoped that she would be able to answer them all. "Is she doing okay?" He asked, almost as an afterthought.

"Yeah, the doctors said she's healing great. They'll release her next week," Selwyn answered. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for her to be leave yet."

Scorpius nodded in understanding. He knew how hard it would be for Selwyn to see his mother return back home and in potential danger once again. Scorpius greatly hoped no more attacks would occur.

(

All day, it took Louis everything he had not to rip open the letter and devour its words. The letter in his pocket had become a dead weight, a constant reminder of what was to come. Finally, after dinner, everyone met at a table in a secluded area of the library near the back.

As Louis carefully took the letter out of his pocket, handling it like a fragile vase, everyone looked at him in anticipation. Louis unfolded the letter and read aloud:

_Dear everyone,_

_First, I can't tell you how much of a pain it was to get this information. I could have gotten fired for looking at someone's personal record so you're lucky I like all of you – _nervous laughter echoed through the table –

_Draco Malfoy started work as an apprentice at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary a couple of years after he left Hogwarts. Later, he took over the shop when the owners became too old. He stayed there for awhile before working as a freelance chemist. Then he worked at the Ministry when Scorpius began school. _

_That's all I can tell you. I don't know why you want to know this, but I won't ask why. Honestly, I don't want to know the answer. But, I must stress one point: leave this to the Aurors. They know what they're doing; trust them._

_I hope school is going well. Victoire and I will find out the gender of the baby in a couple of months. I'm still nervous to be a parent! _

_See you on Easter break._

_Love,_

_Teddy._

The table was silent for a moment.

Scorpius was the first to speak. "I figured he'd have worked for a company."

"Yeah, if he worked as a freelance, how'd he work with Mum?" Selwyn asked. There was a collective shrug and murmurs. Selwyn added, "I'll ask Mum when I visit her this weekend."

"So she's doing better then?" Rose turned to Selwyn. He nodded and gave Rose a smile. "Much better," Selwyn said.

"Perhaps they all worked at Slug & Jiggers," James suggested.

"I wish Teddy dug a little deeper. This doesn't exactly tell us anything," Albus said. They still didn't know where to begin looking for these guys, and another attack could come at any moment. "Maybe if I wrote Dad a letter, maybe he'd understand," Albus added, "After all, he and his friends were fighting at our age."

Louis shook his head. "Uncle Harry is an adult now, Al. He's not going to let his kids be put in danger."

"Louis is right. We can't tell anyone what we're doing," Scorpius said. He hoped these wouldn't be the famous last words. To be honest, he didn't exactly know what he was doing; he was kind of going into this whole "fighting and catching the bad guys" thing blindly. Scorpius had no idea where to start searching. And yet, there was a strong feeling in his stomach that what he was doing was right; Scorpius would trust his gut and hope luck would be on his side. Right now, that's all he could do without running from fear. "Let's hope your mum has answers," He told Selwyn.

Selwyn nodded. "I know. I have many questions," he replied.

Until Scorpius and Selwyn visited Aria this weekend, there wasn't much else they could do at this point. Teddy's letter had only been mildly helpful. They didn't want to ask him any more questions because they didn't want him to lose his job; plus, asking too many questions would make people suspicious, and they definitely didn't want that.

It began to dawn on everyone how difficult this would be. This process wasn't going too quickly, either; that became clear this evening. Everyone fell silent again as these realizations hit them in full-force.

The sound of footsteps, moments later, shook everyone from their thoughts. Heads turned to see who was coming near them. It was Pince and Rowle.

"What are you guys doing in the library?" Selwyn asked his friends, smirking. "Lost?"

Both Slytherin boys narrowed their eyes as they scrutinized the group. "What are you doing hanging out with Potters and Weasleys?" Rowle countered back as he looked at Selwyn.

Selwyn shrugged, not exactly sure what to say. He hadn't hung out with his friends much since his mother's attack. He wasn't avoiding them on purpose; he was just busy making plans with Scorpius and the rest of the group.

"I've roped him in," Scorpius coolly stated, a half-grin upon his face. He managed to avoid Pince's gaze, however. After what happened at New Year's, Scorpius didn't feel comfortable being around Pince.

"It's a little curious," Pince said, "you hanging out with them instead of us."

Selwyn's forehead creased into a frown. "It-it's not like I meant to," he stammered. "Er, I ate dinner with Monroe and Nott today. You two weren't there though."

"We had detention. Long story," Pince said.

Rowle peered at Selwyn and Rose, a strange look upon his face. Then he asked, "So you're hanging with them to shag the mudblood's daughter?"

James, Louis, and Selwyn shot up out of their seats, appalled at that comment. Rose looked aghast that someone would even say that. The rest of the table was too shocked to move or say anything.

"Watch it, asshole," James hissed. His hand grasped his wand, ready to hex the brawly Slytherin.

"Why are you such a dick?" Selwyn asked as he looked at his friend in disgust.

Rowle put his hands up in an innocent fashion. "Didn't figure everyone was such prudes. Don't mean any offense," he said.

"Well, I can see we're not wanted," Pince lightly commented, glancing at the glares. "Guess we'll be on our way." He turned to Selwyn and said, "We're all going drinking in my dorm this weekend. If you're not too cool for us anymore, join."

Selwyn scratched the back of his neck, feeling a little awkward. He knew the table didn't care for his group of friends, even if it hadn't ever been spoken. "Ah, okay. Maybe."

Pince nodded in satisfaction. He turned his head toward Scorpius and winked, saying, "Later, Malfoy." Then he and Rowle left.

Scorpius frowned and shifted in his seat. He didn't know why Pince was so interested in him, but he didn't like it. When Albus looked at him questioningly, wondering why Pince winked at him, Scorpius merely shrugged and looked away.

Lily cleared her throat. "Alright, well, that made my list of top ten awkward moments." Scattered laughter from her joke cleared the tension a little.

Feeling as though they didn't have anything more left to discuss, and not wanting to be interrupted again, the group dispersed.

(

The following day around noon, Headmistress McGonagall arranged for a car to pick up Selwyn and Scorpius and take them to St. Mungo's. The two boys, dressed in jeans and warms sweaters, stepped inside the green car and sat in the back.

The driver shut the door then went around to his side and got in. He started the car and pressed down on the lever to make the car fly. Neither Scorpius nor Selwyn had been in a flying car before, so the ride was quite enjoyable for them. They didn't say much, however, because of the nerves.

Once arriving at St. Mungo's, the driver opened the door for them and the two Slytherins stepped outside. They walked through the main entrance of the hospital and went to the front desk.

"We're here to see Aria Selwyn," Selwyn told the receptionist.

"I'll tell her you're here. Please have a seat," the receptionist said, motioning toward the chairs.

A few minutes later, a Healer arrived and called out their names. The boys stood up and followed the man.

"She's in her room having tea," the man said. "We've set out cups for both of you."

Scorpius and Selwyn thanked him then went inside. As soon as Aria saw them enter, she got to her feet, went over, and hugged her son. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" She exclaimed.

"You too, Mum," Selwyn said, his voice muffled from her shirt. "You seem well," he added when she released him.

"Yes, I'm doing much better," Aria responded. She shook Scorpius' hand and told him, "I'm so sorry, I couldn't get visiting hours for you. I'm afraid you'll have to see Astoria some other time."

Scorpius tried to hide his disappointment, but he couldn't help frowning. "That's fine," he finally said, "As long as she's getting better."

"Oh, she is. I've checked up on her a couple of times when I can," Astoria said. "She's much stronger now that she's eating."

Scorpius smiled, glad to hear the good news. "Thank you."

As the boys sat down and sipped their tea, they figured this was as good a time as any to inquire about the past.

"Mum, we came here in part to ask you a few questions," Selwyn began. Aria gave her son a questioning look, but said nothing. He continued, "We were wondering if the attacks have anything to do with you and Draco Malfoy working together years ago."

"My dear, it has everything to do with the attacks," Aria whispered. She let out a deep sigh that hinted to years of stress and worry. After a few moments of internal struggle, she finally said, "I suppose you two have a right to know what happened."

Setting down their teacups, Scorpius and Selwyn sat up in their chairs in earnest.

Aria laid a quilt over her lap, preparing to tell her story. Finally, she said, "Throughout school, I hadn't known Draco well. I was a few years older, you see, so I didn't pay him much mind. But we were both accomplished chemists, and we only got better with age and experience. That's why we were sought after.

"I dated your father my seventh year, Bryce. Anthony was handsome and charming, but he also had a bad side that I couldn't help but be attracted to. He fought in the war. We were twenty at the time. I was so young and willing to look past his faults because I thought we were in love. But when I heard what he had done, I couldn't forgive him, so we broke up."

Selwyn cut in, feeling uneasy hearing about his father. "Mum, how is this relevant?"

"I'm getting to the point, don't worry," she answered. Then she continued, "Almost four years passed by and I was working at an apothecary in Scotland. I didn't want to stay in London after the war. Your father entered the shop one day. I suppose he was out on business, I don't know. I didn't ask. At first, I wanted nothing to do with him. He broke my heart. But he stayed in Scotland for a few days, trying to woo me. On the last day of his visit, I agreed to go to dinner. My feelings for him came back as he convinced me that he changed. I suppose I hadn't ever gotten over him, so I left Scotland a week after he did and stayed at his flat. We were married a year later.

"Anthony was gone much of the time. I thought it was because of work. Later, I discovered that the Death Eaters hadn't completely disappeared. There was a time when you both were very young when the Death Eaters tried to bring in a new leader. The killings had continued. Anthony evaded the Aurors for many years until he was finally caught for killing a group of Muggleborns. I was devastated. I thought he had really changed, and more so when we had Bryce. But he'd been lying to me all along. That's when I got angry. I was angry at him and at myself. Our reputation was ruined, and it was hard to keep a job once my husband went to Azkaban."

Aria fell silent for a few moments, and both boys sensed the importance of what she was about to say next.

"That's when a man, Ezekiel Byrnes, approached me about working for a company. Draco Malfoy had already been working for them for over two years. The company wanted us to make experimental potions, dangerous potions. They assured us it was for hypothetical purposes only. I needed the job, and to be honest, something to keep my mind off of Anthony. So I took it. But when Death Eaters began mysteriously disappearing and the Aurors had no idea why, Draco and I became a little suspicious. Some of the Death Eaters who were found showed signs of inhumane effects that our potions could do.

"We didn't want to believe that we had something to do with these murders. As the years wore on, we tried not to think about what the fate of our potions were once we made them. But still, it was difficult not to harbor a little guilt and fear. I'm afraid that guilt still stays with me to this day."

"If you felt guilty, why not quit?" Selwyn asked.

Aria turned to her son and gave him a meaningful look. "I don't know. Perhaps we stayed partly because in the back of our minds we knew exactly what we had done. We knew we had played a part in killing Death Eaters. I was harbored by anger at the past. I should have known better than to listen to Anthony; I just sat at home while he killed innocent people. I believe Draco was also angry for his own past. But I don't know. I made good money, and on one hand, I convinced myself I wasn't doing any damage."

Again, silence enveloped Aria, and tears formed in her eyes. Selwyn reached over and took his mother's hands and gave them an encouraging squeeze. Breathing deeply, Aria nodded, knowing that she had to continue. She stared at her son and said, "Please do not judge me – nor your father." She turned to Scorpius at the last comment. "We were young and blinded. Draco told me many times how much he regretted what his parents did and made him do. He said he wanted to make the world better for his son, and that though there was no longer any hope for him, he would make sure Scorpius had a better life." Scorpius bit his trembling lip as his glassy silver eyes stared at Aria.

"Our intention was never to harm anyone. Though we both blissfully accepted the job offer at first, the severity of our actions had never sunk in until the Daily Prophet reported disappearance after disappearance. Finally, we decided to confront Ezekiel and learn the truth. You see, he was our boss and the middle man. We would make the potions and he would package them and deliver them in person to the company."

"This company," Scorpius interrupted. "Does it have a name?"

Aria shrugged. "Draco and I never knew who we worked for. It was very secretive, for obvious reasons. We only knew Ezekiel, but he wouldn't tell us anything. He did, however, finally tell me the truth. It was a few days after you both left for Hogwarts. I was dating him at this time – had been for three years. We were supposed to marry next fall. Anyway, I confronted him one night and he said we were vigilantes and our potions helped kill or seriously injure any enemies. He told me I should be happy to make things right after marrying Anthony, but I was furious. Having my suspicious confirmed was the worst feeling in the world; I felt like such a hypocrite. I kicked Ezekiel out of the house and broke off our engagement that night. I wasn't about to be taken for a fool again.

"I told Draco what I had learned the following day. He, too, was furious. Although we knew it would be dangerous if we both left, we had to leave. Neither of us could continue working once we had learned the truth. A few months later, I opened my own apothecary in Diagon Alley and Draco worked at the Ministry. All the while, we built our case against the company in secret. We tried to find out who we worked for, but whoever these people were, they hid themselves very well."

Aria dropped her voice and solemnly turned to Scorpius. "The night your father died, Draco had confronted Ezekiel and said he was going to take the potions – which were in the package you saw – to the Aurors and expose the company. I suppose the guilt got to him and he wanted to come clean. And well, you know what happened next."

Scorpius dropped his eyes and frowned. It was difficult to hear any more, but he couldn't leave now.

"I'm so sorry, Scorpius. I never thought Ezekiel was capable of murder."

Scorpius nodded. "It's not your fault," he murmured, bringing his eyes back up to look at Aria.

"Your father was a great man. Please understand that. He loved you very much; he always doted on you. Please don't let what you've just learned indicate differently," Aria gently said.

Scorpius wiped his eyes and gave Aria a sad smile. "Thank you. He was the greatest man I've ever known."

Aria stood up from the table and cleared away the tray of teacups and the teapot. Then she returned to her chair and glanced at her son and Scorpius. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you. I hope you will not blame me for keeping this secret. I've felt so guilty, but it's nice to get it off my chest."

"Have you told the Aurors what you've told us?" Selwyn asked.

"I told them about Ezekiel when he was a suspect, but not much else. I was too afraid that I might die, as well. It was a sign of weakness, and I regret it," Aria said.

"You've been most helpful," Scorpius said. "Thank you."

Selwyn nodded in agreement. "I don't think any less of you," he told her as he got up from his chair and gave her another hug.

Aria kissed Selwyn's forehead, smiling in relief.

"Now that I think about it, I suppose I should tell them everything I know," Aria said once she released Selwyn. "I hate knowing whoever responsible still remains at large."

Scorpius and Selwyn gave each other knowing looks, but said nothing. Fortunately, Aria didn't notice. As the three stood up, the boys thanked Aria again.

"You'll be protected when you're released, right?" Selwyn asked.

"Yes, I will have a couple of Aurors watching the house. Try not to worry about me. Just focus on your studies."

Selwyn smiled. "I will."

After saying their goodbyes, Scorpius and Selwyn headed out the door and into the main lobby. There, they saw the driver waiting in a chair, reading the paper.

"My head is still spinning," Selwyn said.

Scorpius nodded. "I know. I just wish we knew the name of the company. Then perhaps we could find out who's responsible."

As the two entered in the back seat of the car again, they quietly talked amongst themselves.

"I never thought my Mum could be a vigilante. It's weird to think about," Selwyn confided.

"She said they didn't know. Imagine working for something that was a complete lie."

"It must have been awful."

The two remained silent for the rest of the journey. Once they returned to Hogwarts, they headed toward their dormitories in silence. Overcome by the shock and exhaustion from the trip, they retired to their beds for a nap before dinner. Needless to say, neither boy got much sleep.

* * *

**I know that was a lot of information to digest. I am very curious to read your thoughts about the thickening plot! So please review!**

**Also, the 'reply to a review' link isn't working for me...not sure why. Would you rather me pm you my replies, put them in my a/n, or do nothing at all?**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Yes, I know it's been two months. I'm so sorry! I've just been really caught up in summer and my internship that fanfiction was in the back of my mind. But I haven't abandoned this story, I promise! So I hope all of you readers are still with me! We're nearing the end, I'll tell you that much.**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters.**

* * *

Chapter 21

Albus slid his hands up Scorpius' bare torso as he pressed his body hard against the boy. His tongue gracefully tumbled inside the Slytherin's mouth, and Scorpius groaned in pleasure. Scorpius roughly tugged at Albus' hair while kissing his swollen lips with lustful ferocity. Then he yanked Albus' head back and moved his lips down to the other boy's neck and proceeded to give him small love bites.

Albus grinned, his eyes still closed, and he quickly slid his hands back down Scorpius' back. Scorpius thrust forward as Albus clenched his ass, both of their erections rubbing against each other.

As both mouths found their way back to each other, Albus fumbled with Scorpius' belt; he was overcome with the desire to fully taste his boyfriend. Just as he threw the belt to the ground and started to unzip Scorpius' trousers, the Slytherin pulled away and opened his mouth.

"Do you think we should make a list of all the attacks on the Death Eaters?" He asked.

Albus dropped his hands and stared dumbfounded at the blond in front of him. "You're talking about this now?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I can't help thinking about it."

"Don't tell me you've thought about this the whole time we've been making out," Albus groaned, leaning against the stone wall.

"I think it's worth looking into," Scorpius continued, ignoring Albus.

Albus glared at the floor. Earlier today when Scorpius asked him to come up to the towers tonight, he was excited. They'd been so busy worrying about other things lately that he and Scorpius hadn't made out like this in a long time. But of course, just as it was about to get really good, Scorpius talked about the attacks again. To be honest, it was starting to annoy the shit out of him.

"Dammit, I have blue balls now," Albus said aloud, sighing.

Scorpius stopped his rant and a small smile played at his lips. "I'll relieve you later, but I want to get your opinion on this first."

"Can't it wait? We rarely have alone time anymore. You can ask the group next time we see them," Albus snapped, his patience wearing thin.

Scorpius frowned. "This is important to me."

"And I'm not?" Albus shot back, looking the other boy squarely in the eye.

Scorpius stared at Albus, saying nothing. Honestly, he was a little surprised at the Gryffindor's audacity.

Sighing, Albus continued, his tone softening, "I know how much this affects you. But maybe that's all the more reason to get your mind off it." He took Scorpius' hand and clasped it with his own. "I don't want you to get too deep into things that you become depressed again."

Scorpius finally tore his gaze from Albus and lowered it to the floor. He softly murmured, "I need closure. I won't be truly happy until this is all over."

Albus instantly released Scorpius' hand like it was on fire. He knew what Scorpius said hadn't intentionally meant to hurt him, but that didn't stop his insides from churning. _Why can't you be happy with me? Why aren't I enough? _He screamed at Scorpius in his head. He wouldn't say it aloud though; it'd have been too insensitive. Trying to wipe the hurt from his face, Albus slowly said, "You need to be realistic. We don't even know where to begin looking."

"I can't let my guard down. There could be another attack at any moment."

"And then what? We're stuck at school. The people responsible have killed so many people without getting caught." Glancing helplessly at Scorpius, he paused for a brief time before quietly adding, "We're just kids."

Scorpius was quiet for a long time. Clenching and unclenching his jaw, he finally stated, "You don't have to be part of this."

Albus ran his fingers through his messy black hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "That's not – " Sighing again, he tried to formulate his words to avoid pissing off his boyfriend even more. "I said I would support you, and I'm not backing out of that promise. I just wish we weren't going into this completely blind. There's a chance we might not be able to do anything."

"But we have to _try_," Scorpius desperately said. "I can't sit around and do nothing. My mum could be next."

Albus stared at his boyfriend for a long time. Finally, he decided to raise the proverbial white flag and stand down. He realized Scorpius was so occupied with his desire for revenge that nothing he said would change his mind. "Fine, so what happens now?"

"I still think a student has something to do with this," Scorpius said, relieved that Albus stopped arguing with him. "I know it was just a dream, but I have a really strong feeling about this. I can't explain it."

Albus thought about the hundreds of kids at Hogwarts. It could be anyone, and there wasn't a sure way to find out. "We'll all keep an eye out and see if we find anything odd. As for making a list, we can look through the Daily Prophet archives."

Scorpius nodded. "Good idea. I knew I kept you around for something," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Bur Albus merely nodded and glanced away. He was so tired of having these conversations over and over again. He felt like whatever was happening was tearing him and Scorpius apart.

Scorpius sensed Albus' frustration and apologetically ran his thumb across Albus' palm, softly saying, "Sorry."

Albus turned his head to look back at Scorpius.

"I'm sorry I've been so pre-occupied with this. I realize I just lost my chances of getting a blow job tonight."

"Yeah, you did."

Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus' waist and murmured, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Although Albus had his hopes on tonight being special, he smiled anyway. "I expect to be given the best damn chocolate in the world."

Laughing, Scorpius leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "I'll give you more than just chocolate." Then he softly pressed his lips upon Albus' lips, hoping the Gryffindor would forgive him for being so distant lately.

(

That same night, Scorpius was on his bed facing Selwyn, talking about what had happened earlier in the towers. He wanted reassurance that he hadn't been a complete asshole to his boyfriend. Being a good friend, Selwyn politely gave the other Slytherin what he wanted.

The brunette completely empathized with Scorpius because all he could think about were the attacks too. However, if say Rose was making out with him and trying to get in his pants, he wouldn't stop to chat for anything in the world.

"I know, I really messed up," Scorpius miserably said, running his fingers through his floppy white-blond hair.

Selwyn gave a sympathetic smile and lightly said, "I'm sure he's already forgiven you."

It had been about an hour since he and Albus left the towers, and it was just setting in how stupid he'd been. He could have gotten his first blow job. Tonight could have been the night the two deepened their relationship. But he ruined it by opening his big fat mouth. Scorpius sighed again in irritation and flopped down on his pillow. _Albus really must hate me right now._

When his friend didn't say anything more, Selwyn spoke again, "Valentine's Day is coming up and we get to go to Hogsmeade that weekend. Make it up to him then."

Scorpius abruptly sat up and grinned. "His birthday is that week too! I'll make sure it's the best damn date he's ever had," he exclaimed, already thinking of ideas. After a few moments passed, Scorpius snapped out of his thoughts and looked back over at Selwyn. "Are you doing anything with Rose?"

Selwyn's chocolate brown eyes widened at the thought. "But we're not dating."

"Do you want to be?"

The brunette fervently nodded. "Yes, she's perfect."

Scorpius smiled to himself. His friend's crush on Rose was adorable. "Then ask her to be your girlfriend on Valentine's Day," he suggested.

"That's not too cliché?"

"Nah, she'll probably think it's romantic."

Selwyn considered this and nodded again as his face lit up. "Alright, thanks mate. I think I will."

"Malfoy. Selwyn," a voice called out to them. Both Slytherins turned and saw Monroe standing in the doorway. "Pince and I snuck some alcohol in our dorms. You guys want to join?"

"Sure," Selwyn said, hopping off his bed. Reaching the doorway, he turned to Scorpius and asked, "You coming?"

The blond stifled a sigh and reluctantly followed the two Slytherins down the hallway. He still wasn't comfortable hanging out with Selwyn's friends, especially when they all got drunk, but there was nothing else to do on a Saturday night and he wanted to get his mind off of Albus. He knew if he stayed in his room, he would only worry about having hurt Albus earlier. _Merlin, when did I become such a follower? _Scorpius disdainfully thought.

Entering the sixth-year boys' dormitory, Scorpius saw Nott and Rowle, along with Pince, breaking into the firewhiskey and rum. As everyone greeted him with surprised tones, Scorpius sat next to Selwyn on a nearby bed.

"Got away from your Gryffindor friends long enough to have some real fun, did you?" Pince asked after taking a sip from a nameless bottle that held an amber liquid with golden flecks.

Scorpius gave a forced smile and said nothing – he didn't know what to say without getting upset.

"Hey arsehole, hand me some of what you've got," Selwyn demanded of Pince, undeterred by his leader's words.

"You can have your own bottle," Pince said as he reached inside a brown bag to retrieve a bottle and throw it at Selwyn.

After Selwyn opened it and took a long swig, he asked, "How the hell did you get that much alcohol?"

"I'm seventeen," Pince proudly declared. "Monroe and I bought everything after sneaking to Hogsmeade from the secret passage on the third floor and apparating to a liquor store."

"That's impressive," Nott mused. Then he turned to Scorpius and asked, "Want some rum?"

Scorpius paused, his conscience at a crossroad. He didn't want to drink, but he also didn't want to be a pansy and refuse. Finally, he decided he wouldn't drink enough to get drunk. "Maybe a little," he said. Monroe handed him the bottle and he took a small sip, trying not to wince as the liquid burned his throat.

For the next hour, the six Slytherins blissfully drank and loudly joked with each other. They would have gotten in trouble with the other sixth-year boys in the dorm except Monroe was a prefect and he threatened (drunkenly, of course) to give anyone detention who voiced a concern. He was also a favorite pupil of Pucey, the Head of Slytherin, who was best friends with his father. So, the boys knew they wouldn't get caught.

Scorpius now felt his head growing heavy and his world tipping a little. He was definitely tipsy, but he was the least drunk of the lot. After awhile, they moved to the commons so they could still be loud but not disturb anyone who was trying to sleep. The room was completely empty except for them.

As Pince threw another empty bottle in the bag, he slithered over to Scorpius, who was leaning against one of the velvet green couches. Scorpius turned to Pince and frowned. The seventeen-year-old now sat dangerously close to him; their legs were almost touching. He subtly moved away from the Slytherin and wondered if Pince got incredibly horny every time he drank. He did not want a repeat of New Year's Eve where the guy almost kissed him. Scorpius shuddered at the near-traumatizing memory.

"So why exactly are you guys hanging out with Potters and Weasleys?" Rowle asked, his words slurred.

"Yeah, are you building a secret army or something?" Pince followed.

Selwyn laughed and drunkenly stated, "Or something." He leaned in close and said, "Actually we –"

"We're all friends. Get over it," Scorpius quickly interrupted before Selwyn said anything. He knew these were Selwyn's friends, but what he and the group were planning was incredibly secretive. He couldn't trust anyone especially when he had a feeling someone at Hogwarts was behind the attacks, even if indirectly.

"It's just weird," Rowle continued.

"Yeah, it is a little weird," Nott echoed.

"Well, I really like Rose. She's beautiful and smart and talented and nice," Selwyn trailed off, a silly grin upon his face.

Scorpius chuckled to himself and shook his head at his friend.

"I knew it!" Monroe and Rowle simultaneously yelled.

"But she's so bloody annoying," Nott muttered.

Selwyn shook his head. "No, she's wonderful," he declared.

"But why not just hang out with Rose and Albus? Why the whole lot?" Pince pressed on.

"That family is kind of a package deal," Scorpius quickly answered. "You get one, you get all of them." He turned to Pince and searched his blue eyes. "Why do you want to know so much about this?" He suspiciously asked.

"Don't get all paranoid," Pince said, chuckling. "We have a reputation at Hogwarts, and if we all start befriending people like the Potters or Weasleys, we won't be feared as much."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and frowned. On some level, he understood exactly what Pince was saying. Slytherins only had their reputations to earn them respect. But even though he wasn't officially part of this "group," for which he was becoming thankful, he still didn't like how one person could dictate who others were friends with. Scorpius hoped Selwyn wouldn't break things off with Rose to keep his leader happy.

Fortunately, Selwyn wasn't bothered. "I don't even want to be known as a bad guy."

"You're drinking alcohol underage in the Slytherin commons," Monroe pointed out, grinning. "That's not exactly angelic behavior."

Selwyn shrugged and, in response, sipped from one of the few bottles they had left. Everyone busted into laughter.

"You're destroyed!" Nott remarked, flicking a bottle cap at Selwyn, still laughing.

"I'm not even drunk!" Selwyn insisted, his words barely comprehensible. As the brunette yawned loudly, Scorpius figured he should probably put his friend to sleep. And glancing up at the clock, which read almost 2 a.m., he longed for some shut-eye as well.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Scorpius announced. "I'll take Selwyn with me before he passes out."

"Aw come on, don't be a party pooper," Rowle protested.

"Actually, I should get some sleep too," Monroe said. "I've got Quidditch practice in the morning."

As everyone unsteadily got to their feet, preparing to leave, Pince turned to Rowle and demanded, "Come with me to dispose of these bottles."

"What if we get caught?" The beefy Slytherin asked.

"We won't if you keep quiet. Filch should be asleep by now," Pince said. Bidding goodnight to each other, the two boys softly crept out of the commons and the rest went up to their dormitories to sleep.

* * *

**Not a lot of action in this chapter...but it was fun to write another drunk scene. This chapter was more building up to the next one...but that's all I'm going to say. ;) Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up before another two months passes by...fingers crossed! :)**

**Anyway, tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc. by reviewing! And I'll give you strawberry smoothies because I'm absolutely in love with them now!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I know, I really suck at updating. But I finally typed this up and here it is. I really hope you're all following the story still! Oh, and warning: there is a mature scene in the middle...but I tried my best to keep it teen-rated. Enjoy!**

Chapter 22

Albus stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. His jet-black hair still stuck out wildly from all sides, he was still an average height, and he hadn't become more muscular. He didn't look any different, but did he feel different?

Today, Albus turned sixteen. He wasn't quite an adult yet, but sixteen was definitely a more mature age than fifteen, he reckoned. As he smiled back at his reflection, Albus internally decided, _I do feel more mature and wiser. _His smile grew into a pronounced smirk.

Louis popped his head through the bathroom door, wondering what was taking his best friend so long, and loudly said, "Hey Mr. Narcissist, staring at yourself isn't going to make your face more attractive."

Albus turned from the mirror and playfully scowled at his cousin. "You can't talk to the birthday boy like that!" He exclaimed as he took one last look at his sixteen-year-old self before heading out of the bathroom.

"Whatever. I'm still older than you," Louis haughtily pointed out. His birthday was in early October.

Shoving each other while laughing, the two boys eventually made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Along the way, Albus received many greetings of "Happy Birthday, Albus!" which made him grin from ear to ear. His birthday was always his favorite day of the year!

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table and gathering food onto his plate, Albus saw Scorpius coming through the entrance shortly after. The Slytherin sat down in the empty seat next to him.

"Happy Birthday, Al," Scorpius said, giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "How does it feel to be sixteen?"

"Brilliant!" Albus answered after swallowing a chunk of cantaloupe.

"I have something very special planned for you tomorrow," Scorpius softly said.

Albus grinned, excited about his boyfriend's surprise. Tomorrow was the Hogsmeade trip. It was moved to this weekend because of Valentine's Day. "Are you going to buy me whatever I want from Honeydukes?" He asked hopefully.

Scorpius laughed aloud and replied, "You might put me in the poorhouse if I do that!" A mysterious smile slowly growing upon his face, he patted Albus' arm and added, "Anyway, I'm not telling you anything so don't try guessing."

Albus let out a long sigh. "Can't I get just one hint? I'm not sure I can wait until tomorrow!"

Scorpius shook his head, still grinning, as he lathered cream cheese on his blueberry bagel.

Albus was about to prod further until he spotted his parents' owls and his grand-parents' owls heading toward him, presents and cards attached to their talons. Once the owls landed on the table, somewhat ungracefully from the weight holding them back, Albus hurried to untie the strings. He loved getting presents!

(

"Have I told you how attractive you are today?" Scorpius asked Albus. They were walking down a snowy path, hand in hand, at Hogsmeade. It was just the two of them together – a rarity it seemed lately.

Albus grinned, laughing. "Yeah, twice!"

"Well, being sixteen is servicing you well," Scorpius remarked. Albus was dressed in a chestnut sweater under a charcoal fleece jacket and tight fitting jeans. His hair was messed and tousled to near perfection, in Scorpius' opinion.

He, himself, wore a blue button down shirt, which made the blue flecks in his eyes stand out, under a black pea coat and dark jeans. He had taken extra care in his appearance today.

"You're just trying to butter me up," Albus said, his green eyes gleaming.

"Is it working?"

Albus simply smiled and shrugged. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "So where are we going?"

"We're nearly there," Scorpius said as he rounded a corner. The shrieking shack came into view. He pointed at the dilapidated building. "We'll have plenty of alone time in there, and we'll be warm."

"Are we allowed to go in the shrieking shack?" Albus asked.

Scorpius shrugged, not caring if they were allowed or not. He was going to do it anyway.

Once inside, Scorpius quickly moved a few pieces of furniture out of the way so that they would have room. It was full of clutter and dusty, but definitely warm. Sunlight provided the room with natural light.

Albus lied down on a couch, not caring about the dust, and motioned for Scorpius to join him. Scorpius happily obliged.

The two boys caressed each other, staring lovingly. Scorpius was so grateful to have this private moment. The tension building, Albus rolled on his side and wrapped his arms around Scorpius' neck and began kissing him.

Scorpius kissed Albus back, feeling a wave of relief and bliss wash over him. Their kisses started out sweet and slow at first, but soon became faster and more urgent.

The boys hastily rubbed their hands all over the other's body, trying to feel as much as they could. Scorpius concentrated on massaging Albus' butt while Albus slid his hands up Scorpius' shirt.

Soon, both shirts were off and lying haphazardly on the floor. Wanting to be more comfortable, both boys moved to the floor as well, the carpet protecting their backs.

Kissing with more intensity, Albus nipped at Scorpius' lip then moved to his neck, giving him a couple of hickeys. Not to be outdone, Scorpius lapped his tongue around Albus' ear and nipped at the earlobe then the cartilage. Albus groaned in pleasure, a shiver spreading up his spine.

Scorpius moved his hand down Albus' torso and to his crotch, feeling the raven-haired boy's erection. Although his own wanted pleasing, Scorpius wanted to give Albus' birthday surprise right now. So he unzipped Albus' jeans, and Albus helped take them off along with his boxers.

The Slytherin bit his lip with desire as he stared down Albus' body. Then he glanced into green eyes, silently asking for permission. Albus nodded, his insides quivering with anticipation.

Scorpius' hand reached for Albus' erection and began moving up and down in a rhythmic motion. When the tip dripped a bit, Scorpius took his hand away and replaced it with his mouth. He glanced back up at Albus, loving the Gryffindor's reaction.

Albus shivered and moaned. He had never before felt this _good._ It was definitely his best birthday present ever by a long shot. As Scorpius worked, Albus arched his hips and grabbed fistfuls of the other boy's light blond hair, loving the warm sensation.

"Yes...so...good," Albus groaned in delight. As Scorpius' tongue lapped the flesh, Albus' groans deepened and his eyes grew dark with lust. He tried to control himself, but he could no longer hold it.

Albus released, his whole body trembling. Scorpius quickly swallowed huge gulps, absolutely loving the taste of his boyfriend.

Finally Scorpius got up from his position and lied next to Albus, grinning from ear to ear. Albus kissed Scorpius on the cheek and smiled. Then he leaned in and whispered, "Your turn now."

"You don't want Honeydukes instead?" Scorpius asked, smirking.

"Don't tempt me," Albus retorted back as he rubbed Scorpius' crotch area, teasing the boy.

Scorpius dropped his smirk and didn't protest. With his erection longing for stimulation, there was no way he could refuse.

(

A half hour later, both boys entered the Three Broomsticks, exhausted and with silly grins on their faces. They walked toward the back and spotted Rose and Bryce sitting in a booth, looking rather cozy with each other.

"You two look as if you had a good time," Rose remarked once they sat down.

"Best Valentine's Day ever!" Albus exclaimed, still holding Scorpius' hand.

"Well, we've found some interesting stuff about the Death Eater's disappearances," Rose said more seriously, getting out snippets of many articles from her handbag. "We went through the Daily Prophet archives in the library and found that most of the well-known Death Eaters have disappeared or are still in Azkaban," she began.

"Dolhov, Yaxley, Goyle, Nott, and Rookwood – they all went missing," Selwyn chimed in.

"Wait, Ted Nott's dad?" Scorpius asked.

"No, his grandfather. Ted's never met him," Selwyn answered.

"Anyway, all of these articles were just small blurbs. I looked, but not one reporter investigated further," Rose went on. "I'm not sure the Aurors did much either."

"Of course not," Albus said. "Their Death Eater problem was being taken care of. Why investigate the vigilantes?"

"Well, we have proof now that Mum and Draco's potions worked. These articles were written at the same time when they worked for that company. Beyond that, though, we still have no leads," Selwyn said.

Scorpius sighed. They were still at a dead end and he didn't know what else to do. Doubts had been setting in for the past couple days. He wanted revenge, but he didn't even know who these guys were. It was definitely frustrating.

Suddenly, a piercing, high-pitched scream resounded through the air. Scorpius looked out the window and saw a body lying just a few feet away from where they sat.

"What the hell?" Albus exclaimed, having seen the body as well. The fifth-years glanced at each other then bolted out of the Three Broomsticks and sprinted over to the body.

The body didn't have any robes on so it wasn't a student, but the face wasn't recognizable because it had been disfigured. The body's insides were spilling out; it was a disgusting sight. Blood seeped out on the snow. Underneath the body's left armpit were a note and a burnt Death Eater mask.

Scorpius spotted the items and picked them up, his heart dropping. He slowly unfolded the note. It read:

_Stop meddling, Scorpius Malfoy, or you and your friends will end up like this._

Scorpius' mouth went dry and his heart started beating rapidly. "Did you see who did this? Where did he go?" Scorpius croaked to no one in particular.

A small girl pointed a shaky finger toward the village. "He went that way," she said in a meek voice.

Scorpius crumpled the note in his fist, pocketed the mask, and sprinted in that direction.

Albus, who had been calling for help with Rose and Selwyn, noticed his boyfriend running. He instinctively ran after Scorpius, calling out, "Wait up!"

The two boys ran faster with each stride until they reached the end of the village and saw in the distance someone in green robes running as well.

"Show yourself!" Scorpius yelled, raising his wand to cast a spell.

The figure halted for a second then vanished.

Scorpius let out a cry and sank to his knees, trembling. Albus caught up to the fifth-year moments later and sat down, comforting him.

"I saw him. He was right there," Scorpius shakily said.

"What's going on?" Albus asked. He still didn't know why they'd been running.

Scorpius buried his face in Albus' chest. "He's a Slytherin, Al. The attacker wore green robes. He's a student here."

"Scor, you're not making sense. What happened?"

Scorpius placed the crumpled note in Albus' hand. Al read the note and gasped. "You think that attack has something to do with –"

"I know it does," Scorpius interrupted. "He's a Slytherin. He could be sleeping right next to me!" By this time, Scorpius was in hysterics.

Albus tightly hugged his boyfriend, whispering comforting words in his ear. But inside he was freaking out. He, too, thought he saw green robes a few yards away. But how could a student be capable of doing something so awful? Whatever the case, Scorpius' dream had been right. They were no longer safe at Hogwarts. "Come on, we should head back," Albus eventually said.

Scorpius numbly got up and held onto Albus' hand. _I was so close! Why didn't I attack sooner? Why did I hesistate? _He chastised himself the whole way back.

When they reached the main square, the body was gone and Headmistress McGonagall was ushering people away from the scene.

"Go to the station, all of you," McGonagall commanded. "This Hogsmeade trip is over."

Scorpius and Albus did as they were told. Arriving at the carriages, they spotted Rose and Selwyn.

"What happened?" The couple simultaneously asked. "Why did you run off?" Rose added.

Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out the burnt mask. "It was a Slytherin. I saw his robes."

Rose and Selwyn looked at each other with wide eyes.

"This is not good," Selwyn exclaimed, shocked.

* * *

**Yay, the plot line is finally advancing! Only two or three more chapters left. Hopefully it won't take me another six months, but...we'll see. Please review though! They help motivate me and when you review, I won't forget about the story. :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**And I'm back! :) I just want to finish this darn story! This is more of a filler chapter, but things have finally progressed which you will soon find out. Thanks to everyone who are still keeping up with the story and those who reviewed last chapter. You guys are amazing! I'm sorry that I've been terrible about updating. But anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters.**

* * *

Chapter 23

In the following days, Scorpius and Selwyn were completely paranoid. Their necks constantly ached from glancing all around to make sure no one was following them or ready to hex them. The two boys tried to stay away from the Slytherin commons as much as possible. They usually stayed at the library or in secluded places at Hogwarts with Albus, Louis, and Rose until it was way past curfew. And needless to say, neither boy was able to sleep well.

Scorpius had had the same nightmare about the two mysterious men who almost attacked him in his dream since Saturday. It was unnerving, but each time Scorpius felt like he was closer to recognizing the men's faces.

He tried to discreetly stalk every Slytherin male (he was positive the Hogsmeade attacker wasn't female) without their knowing – a few threatened to punch him if he didn't leave them alone. But no matter how many Slytherins Scorpius stalked, he couldn't figure out who was the attacker. And he was afraid if he continued, he might be the one attacked next. After all, the guy had written him a direct message to stop meddling.

That Monday, the Daily Prophet came out with an article about the Hogsmeade attack. The body was identified as Terence Higgs, a former Death Eater. Scorpius was now completely convinced that the attack was not only a warning to him but a statement that meant they were still willing to kill people and they weren't afraid of a few nosy kids. He was more determined than ever to hunt down this group and make them wish they'd stopped a long time ago. The urge to avenge his father's death pulsated through every vein each second of the day.

Scorpius woke early Thursday morning, having had a nightmare that he couldn't remember. He only remembered the emotions and they made him sick to his stomach. He rolled over on his side and peeked through the curtain.

"Selwyn!" Scorpius whispered. No answer. He tried again. "Selwyn!" Scorpius more loudly whispered. Still no answer. He threw his pillow at the body in the bed next to his. "Bryce Selwyn!"

The body stirred. "Ugh, what?" Selwyn sleepily murmured.

"Are you awake?" Scorpius asked.

Selwyn grunted. "I am now." He picked up Scorpius' pillow off the ground and threw it back at the blond.

"I can't sleep. I feel like someone is watching me," Scorpius softly said.

That got Selwyn's attention. He jolted upwards and looked around him. Everyone else was still sleeping. It was only 5:45 a.m. "I don't think anyone is watching," he softly replied.

Scorpius glanced around him as well. "Yeah. It's just this feeling I've had all week. I can't shake it."

"I know what you mean." Selwyn turned to face his friend, leaning in closer so that they could talk more quietly. "I hate being in here now."

Scorpius nodded. "I definitely don't feel safe. It's like the calm before the storm." And it really was. Scorpius had expected something to happen – another attack, another letter, _anything_. But these past few days nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything seemed normal. A little too normal.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do except wait."

"That's the worst part."

Selwyn nodded. "Anyway, I think we should probably get the extra hour of sleep. Then we can go down to breakfast and try to focus on our classes."

Scorpius sighed. "Okay, I'll try," he finally said. He really didn't want to go back to sleep for fear of having that nightmare again. But there was no use staying up for an hour being left alone with his paranoid thoughts. So, Scorpius adjusted his pillow, closed his eyes, and attempted to fall asleep while praying that this would all end soon.

At breakfast, Scorpius and Selwyn joined Albus, Rose, Louis, Lily, and James at the Gryffindor table. Ever since Saturday, the two Slytherins had eaten with the Gryffindors for each meal. The other Gryffindors had either gotten used to them or didn't want to say anything for fear of the Weasleys' wrath. They sat at the end of the table where they couldn't be easily overheard.

Albus and James amiably chatted about the final Quidditch match when Teddy's owl landed next to Louis.

"Guys, look. A letter from Teddy," Louis announced.

The group stopped their conversations and glanced over, surprised and eager. Louis hastily untied the piece of parchment and fed the owl a piece of his English muffin. Then he unrolled the parchment and softly read:

_Dear Everyone,_

_ I hope this term is going well for all of you. School is almost over, which is hard to believe. Sometimes I almost miss it. Don't forget to study for your O.W.L. exams; they're killer. But this isn't the reason I'm writing._

_ I want you all to know that we think we have discovered the location of the company Ezekiel Byrnes used to work at. It's a warehouse in northern Scotland outside of Dingwall. We have a few leads, but nothing I can legally share._

_ I'm not telling you this so that you will do something stupid. I just think you would want to hear this from me first before the Daily Prophet reports on it. We have plans to check it out this weekend after we get clearance. So by next week, this will all be over. _

_ The Aurors have this under control. These guys are very dangerous and you need to be careful. Again, do not do anything stupid._

_ Best wishes,_

_ Teddy_

Louis' mouth dropped open after finishing reading the letter. "Bloody hell," was all that came out of his mouth.

"This is it," Scorpius murmured. "This is the sign we've been waiting for. They could be there."

"Let's not do anything reckless, like Teddy said," Rose spoke at the same time as James, who said, "Meet in the library during lunch. We need to discuss what to do with this information."

Scorpius and Selwyn nodded, agreeing with James. Louis pocketed the letter as everyone else reluctantly agreed after them. Albus had a bad feeling sink to the pit of his stomach, but there was nothing he could say to change anyone's minds. Looking around him, everyone except Rose had the same determined, crazy look in their eyes. He knew this could possibly end a lot sooner than Teddy said.

(

After morning classes, Scorpius and Albus walked hand in hand to the library with food in their robe pockets. They figured everyone would be hungry; the problem was eating without being seen by the librarian.

Fortunately, Rose had picked a table in the back, secluded from the rest of the tables. As the couple approached the table, the boys spilled their contents and sat down.

"Awesome, I'm glad you thought to bring food!" James exclaimed as he reached for a turkey sandwich.

"We had to go to the kitchen to get them and the house elves wouldn't stop talking," Albus began.

"That's why we're late," Scorpius finished.

"No matter," Rose said, reaching for a sandwich as well. "We were just going over a few maps and trying to figure out the best route to Dingwall."

"How far away is it?" Scorpius asked.

"I'd say about forty minutes by broomstick," Selwyn answered, "Which isn't bad, considering I thought it would be a lot further."

"So we will leave from Hogsmeade and ride there," Louis said after swallowing a bite of biscotti.

Scorpius nodded. "The problem is trying to find the warehouse. There could be tons of old abandoned warehouses for all we know."

"Easy," James interjected, "We'll just find the one that's the spookiest and the most not abandoned."

A moment of silence fell upon the group as they continued to eat lunch. After a few minutes, Albus voiced his concerns. "Are we sure we want to do this? We could just wait it out and see if the Aurors do their job."

Scorpius frowned. "The Aurors had plenty of time to settle this case. I don't want to wait for them to finally do something. I'd rather take matters into my own hands."

"But you want to go tonight? That's not enough time to fully prepare!" Rose exclaimed.

"Rose, we've had our whole Hogwarts career to prepare for something like this," James explained. "Scorpius deserves some peace after these years. We all do, even."

Scorpius gave James a surprised, but grateful smile. "You don't have to go tonight if you don't want. This will be dangerous and some of us might get injured."

Albus looked at his boyfriend and gave his hand a loving squeeze. "I'm one hundred percent with you, but I still think what we're doing is reckless and insane."

"I agree with Al," Rose said. "But I will fight as well."

Scorpius grinned. "Great. Now for making a game plan. We have to be as ready as we possibly can."

James turned to his sister and said, "Lily, I suggest you stay high in the air and watch from above for any approaching men. Stay out of sight. I cannot stress that enough."

James continued, "Scorpius, Albus, and myself will go around to the back and side entrances while Rose, Louis, and Bryce come in through the front. That way, we can attack from all fronts."

"What if no one is inside?" Louis asked.

"That's a definite possibility," James answered. "But I'm willing to bet someone is always on watch duty. He will probably alert others of the intruders."

"I have this gut feeling that they will be there already expecting us," Scorpius said. "They know what we're planning. Someone at Hogwarts has been spying on us. And that's just more reason for this to finally end and for us to either totally regret seeking them out or finally to feel at peace."

"For our sake, I hope it's the latter," Louis mumbled.

"I don't think we should stay here long if that's the case," James said. "So plan to meet in Hogsmeade at 11. I don't care how you get there, but don't get caught. And bring your wand and broomstick, obviously."

After exchanging a few words, everyone stood up and left the library to head to afternoon class.

(

Finally, nightfall had arrived. No one could focus on their classes today. The nerves settled in everyone's stomach soon after lunch had ended. Albus was probably the most anxious. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, or worse, killed. But he knew this was necessary. Scorpius needed closure, and doing this would provide him that. Hopefully by the end of tonight they could go back to having normal lives. Albus prayed to Merlin that everything would go well and no one would be seriously injured. That was all he could do.

Albus, Rose, and Louis headed toward the third-floor corridor fifteen minutes after James and Lily did. They grabbed the invisibility cloak, although it barely fit all three of them anymore, especially with their broomsticks in hand. But it was the only way to insure that Filch or any other professors or prefects wouldn't catch them sneaking out.

After pushing back the statue of the humpbacked witch, the three Gryffindors put the statue back in place and hurried down the passage that lead to Honeydukes' cellar. Albus folded the invisibility cloak and left it in an empty box in the cellar. He didn't want to risk losing it on their journey.

They met up at a lamppost where James and Lily already stood. A few minutes later, the Gryffindors saw Scorpius and Selwyn hurry towards them.

"Ready?" Scorpius asked everyone once he and Selwyn reached the lamppost.

"How much trouble do you suppose we'll be in?" Rose asked.

"Considering we're all underage and we're sneaking out of Hogwarts, probably a ton," James said.

"Right. Just wondering," Rose said, grimacing. She reached into her pocket and got out the map they made earlier which charted directions from Hogwarts to outside of Dingwall.

After studying the map, the teens mounted their brooms and set off for their destination. They rode high in the air, packed together like a flock of birds. They didn't want to be spotted by anyone, Muggle or wizard.

Forty-five minutes later, the pack had reached the outskirts of Dingwall.

"Look for a big, old building," Scorpius shouted over the wind.

It was another ten minutes before they spotted a dilapidated dark brick building. "Think that's it?" James asked.

Scorpius motioned for everyone to land on a patch of grass three yards away from the building. After dismounting, Scorpius whispered to Lily, "Fly around the building and see if there's anyone here."

Doing as she was told, Lily flew back up and circled the building. About a minute later, she landed next to James. "I didn't see anyone and everything is completely dark."

"This fits the description so I say we investigate," Scorpius said.

"But I don't want to waste our time looking through every warehouse until someone pops out and says, "Hey, you found us!" Louis said.

"What other choice do we have?" James said. "We haven't seen a warehouse for miles. I'm fairly certain this is the right one."

James' reasoning won out so he, Albus, and Scorpius set off toward the back of building after stowing away their broomsticks behind nearby trees.

As they hopped the fence, the boys passed by a steel door. "You two go in through here while I check out the back," James ordered in a hushed whisper.

"Okay, be careful," Albus responded. Once James left, Scorpius squeezed Albus' hand and said, "You ready?"

Albus nodded and gave Scorpius a quick kiss, which he hoped wouldn't be their last.

Scorpius pointed his wand at the door and firmly said, "_Alohomora_." The lock clicked and Scorpius hastily pushed open the heavy door.

The inside was nearly pitch black. Both boys' heart thumped wildly as they simultaneously said, "_Lumos_."

Light shone from the tips of their wands, filling the huge room with a little more light. As they glanced all around them, they saw that the building was completely empty. Scorpius spotted a table nearby and motioned for Albus to follow him.

Reaching the table, he saw that it was filled with beakers and parchment. Albus leafed through the parchment, lighting it up as he read the contents. Names were written on it, most crossed out. Albus read through the names and once he reached the bottom, he gasped. Scorpius Malfoy was one of the names.

"What?" Scorpius asked as he followed Albus' eyes. His mouth became dry once he saw that his name was on the hit list. "We're definitely in the right place."

Suddenly, a door creaked open and both boys turned.

"_Lumos,_" a whisper echoed through the room. The couple gave a sigh of relief to see that Rose, Louis, and Selwyn had entered the room. The three fifth-years briskly walked over to them. "Are we alone?"

"I'm not sure," Scorpius softly said. "But this is the right warehouse."

"Albus, Louis, and I can search this floor while you and Bryce go upstairs," Rose said. "I saw stairs when we came in."

"I'll try to help James," Albus said. "He should be in here by now." He didn't allow himself to feel any emotions, although they threatened to creep in; he had to focus and be alert.

"Good idea," Scorpius said. Then he and Selwyn bounded toward the front entrance and headed upstairs.

The second floor was more cluttered than the first floor and not as spacious. Multiple shelves lined the wall with jars, books, and various supplies filling them. A narrow hallway was at the end of the room with two doors on either side. Overall, this room looked sinister.

"Should we go down the hallway?" Selwyn asked.

Scorpius really didn't want to, but he needed to find more answers, and this room wasn't going to hold any. "Yeah, okay."

The two Slytherins quietly made their way down the long hallway, listening for a sound and searching for shadows. Four doors lined the hallway, each locked. After making their way to the end, Scorpius saw that the fifth door wasn't closed all the way. He impulsively pushed open the door and immediately saw a dark figure standing in front of them. Both boys froze in place.

"You're already halfway in, might as well join us," said the dark figure.

_That voice! It's the one from my dreams! _Scorpius whipped out his wand and marched in, alert and ready to fight. He wouldn't hesitate this time. Selwyn reluctantly followed suit.

The lights flickered and they saw two figures standing before them. The taller one stood in front of a table whereas the other lounged lazily in a blue plush chair.

Scorpius and Selwyn glanced towards the figure sitting down, and once their eyes adjusted to the light, both jaws dropped as they recognized the guy.

"You!" Scorpius shouted, completely shocked.

"Bloody hell, I can't believe it!" Selwyn exclaimed.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Depending on how long the next one is, I may or may not split up the last chapter into two chapters. Tell me who you think the Slytherin snitch is in a review; I'd love to hear your thoughts! The next chapter promises to be filled with lots of action! Yay!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Holy musical batman, I actually finished this story! It took me way too long, and I apologize. Life happens and motivation for fanfiction goes out the window. But thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted and favorited this story. I had an amazing time writing this story. I hope you enjoyed it. :)**

* * *

Chapter 24

Scorpius stood just inside the doorway, wand out, completely stunned. Selwyn seemed catatonic as well. _No, no, no!_ Scorpius shouted inside his head. He had hung out with this traitor! How could this be possible? Yet, the more Scorpius thought about it, the less surprised he was.

"Well don't just stand there," the figure said. "Aren't you going to attack me? Or cry that I betrayed your friendship?" The figure walked closer, his face now lit up from the moonlight that shone through a broken window.

There was no denying it. Isaiah Pince stood in front of them, cool and confident as he always was.

"You traitor!" Selwyn yelled, running at Pince and jabbing him in the chest with his wand. "I trusted you! We were friends! How could you attack my mum? We never did anything to you!"

Unfazed by Selwyn's outburst, Pince smirked wider. "Maybe you didn't do anything personally to me, but your mum almost exploited my father's company. She had to be taught a lesson."

"Did you attack her?" Selwyn asked, his temper flaring.

"Of course not, idiot. I was at school." Pince pushed Selwyn's wand away from his chest.

"My son was told to keep an eye on you lot, to gather intel," the older man, Pince's father, spoke.

"You knew we would be here tonight," Scorpius quietly said.

"Of course. Isaiah is an excellent spy." Pince's father crept closer to Scorpius. "My, you look so much like your father."

"Don't you dare talk about him!" Scorpius spat. A million thoughts ran through his mind and he couldn't concentrate well. He knew he needed to attack, but he didn't know when. The timing needed to be exact.

As if on cue, a loud cry and a crash resonated through the building's dreary walls. It was a female cry.

Selwyn impulsively shouted at Isaiah, "_Stupefy!_"

"_Protego!_" Isaiah quickly said, thwarting the stunning spell.

Scorpius said a stinging hex at Pince's father then grabbed Selwyn. Both boys sprinted out of the room to head downstairs.

"_Flipendo!_"

As Scorpius ran, he saw Selwyn being knocked backwards by the spell. He whipped around and shouted "_Expelliarmus!_" at the advancing figure. Selwyn quickly got to his feet, albeit mildly disoriented, and took off with Scorpius.

Reaching the ground floor, they saw spells hurled from every corner. There were about six or seven men dressed in long dark cloaks fighting Scorpius' friends. The Slytherins rushed to help.

Scorpius immediately went to Albus' aid, who was fighting off two men. "_Immobulus!_" He shouted at one of the men.

"Nice of you to show up," Albus exclaimed. "_Alarte Ascendare!_"

"Isaiah Pince is the snitch. His father owns this company," Scorpius said after protecting himself from a spell launched at him.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" A voice boomed, stopping all currently operating spells. Then everyone except the men in cloaks fell to the ground, unconscious.

(

As Scorpius groggily woke up, he glanced around and noticed that Rose, Louis, Selwyn, Albus and James were all bound with thick, black vines, held up by men with a wand pointed at their heads. Panicked, Scorpius glanced down and saw that he, too, was tied up. He tried to wriggle free but a man jabbed his wand at Scorpius' head. "Stop moving or I'll kill you," the man hissed.

"For those of you who do not know me," a voice boomed, "I am Adrian Pince. I know why you're here. You lot foolishly think you can defeat me. What I can't seem to figure out is how you know we're here." Adrian walked over to where James stood.

Scorpius' eyes widened when he saw James' bruised face that had already begun to swell.

"If it isn't James Potter," Adrian snidely remarked. "Did you know that I was in your father's training class? I wanted to be an Auror more than anything. You see, I hated Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. My sixth year, I was sent away from Hogwarts because I was Muggleborn. They took my wand and told me I didn't deserve to be a wizard, that I was worse than scum. My parents had to go into hiding because they would have been murdered.

"When I heard the war was over and Voldemort was killed by none other than Harry Potter, I was excited. I could finally go back to living a normal life. Then I was rejected by the Auror training staff. They said I was too hungry for revenge and I should come back when my head was on straight.

"But they didn't know how tough it had been for me, to be afraid every single day. Azkaban wasn't a worse enough punishment for Death Eaters. I wanted to torture them, to kill them."

"But killing them is just as bad as what You-Know-Who did!" Rose exclaimed.

Adrian quickly silenced her with a spell. Then he silenced Selwyn who had begun to yell.

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?" Adrian shouted. "What I'm doing is for the good of everyone! I am doing what the Aurors are too cowardly to do."

"No, you're killing people because of your own personal vendetta!" Scorpius exclaimed.

Adrian turned toward Scorpius. "Ah, but your father was no better than I. He was a murderer."

"No!" Scorpius firmly stated.

Adrian sauntered toward the blond Slytherin. "He was the one responsible for making my potions lethal. He had a huge hand in killing those Death Eaters, his former friends."

"You're the murderer!" Scorpius shouted. "You helped kill my father!"

Adrian nodded gravely. "An unfortunate consequence. We had to protect ourselves from being exploited. But it's not like Draco wasn't asking for it. He was a Death Eater, too. He deserved to die."

Rage overcame Scorpius. His body ferociously shook as he tried to break free of the binds. He tried to reach for his wand, but his hands didn't budge. This only angered Scorpius more. "ROT IN HELL!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Adrian's eyes narrowed and he turned to his son. "Isaiah, silence him."

Grinning wickedly, Isaiah hurried toward Scorpius and caressed the blond's tear-stained cheeks. "Shh, it's okay babe," he purred. "You need to know that we're on your side. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you keep this up."

Scorpius turned his face away from Isaiah's touch. "Get away from me, you creep."

"You sure are cute when you're mad," Isaiah said, ruffling his hair. He grabbed Scorpius' face and gave him a long, aggressive kiss.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Albus yelled, horrified to see the traitor kissing his boyfriend.

Scorpius tried to wriggle out of Isaiah's grip. He bit down hard on the seventh-year's lip, drawing blood.

"Ow!" Isaiah jerked back his head and wiped his bloody lip. Then he punched Scorpius square in the jaw. "You arsehole! Albus is no good for you. I can be everything you've ever desired."

"You're a lying piece of shit, Pince, and I would rather die than kiss you willingly," Scorpius spat.

Isaiah's eyes flared in anger and he raised his wand at Scorpius' bruising face.

"Isaiah, please. Stop being emotional and focus," Adrian chided his son.

Isaiah slunk back next to his father, keeping his head low.

Adrian slowly paced back and forth next to the young captives. "Unfortunately for you lot, I can't let you go. I'm sure you understand." He turned and faced the students. "I can't have you blabbing about what you saw here tonight.

"I'm quite good with memory charms, but I think it's only fair to off you ourselves."

Panicked shouts cried out as the captives tried to wriggle free from the black vines. Suddenly, the door burst open and a powerful voice was heard among the noise. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN!"

Albus' head shot up and he saw his dad fire a spell at Adrian, causing the man to fall backwards. At once, the cloaked men dropped their captives and ran after the Aurors, who were shouting hexes at them.

The black vines disappeared and each student was free. Teddy ran over to them and shouted, "Follow me out back. Now!"

The teenagers did what they were told and quickly followed Teddy, careful not to be in the line of fire.

Lily was found out back, waiting for them, a somber look on her face.

"Grab your broomsticks and hold onto this shoe," Teddy sternly instructed. As each hand touched the shoe, the portkey lifted them in the air and sent them to Hogsmeade in a matter of seconds.

After everyone gathered their bearings, Teddy began his lecture. "What did I tell you? Leave it to us; we were going to handle it. You guys almost got yourselves killed!"

Scorpius hung his head. "I'm sorry. It was my fault."

"How did you know we'd be here?" James asked.

Teddy narrowed his eyes. "I figured you wouldn't wait until the weekend. It took a lot of convincing to come tonight, but I'm glad I guessed correctly. This was too dangerous for Hogwarts students to handle."

"I had to know," Scorpius quietly said. Everyone else remained silent.

"I understand," answered Teddy. "But your thirst for revenge almost killed you and your friends. Now, get to Hogwarts. McGonagall will be waiting for you, and it won't be pretty. I need to get back to the warehouse."

Teddy wasn't kidding. When the students got back to Hogwarts and faced Headmistress McGonagall, her look alone could have killed them.

"Angry is not an adequate word to describe how I feel right now. You broke the law and put your lives in danger. What were you thinking?" McGonagall quietly spoke, emphasizing each word.

"All of you have detention for the rest of the year and fifty points will be taken away from each of you. You're lucky I'm not going to expel each and every last one of you. Now get yourselves to the Infirmary to have your wounds looked at. I will speak with your parents in the morning." And with that, she stalked away, each step seething with anger and disappointment.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Scorpius softly said as they made their way to the hospital wing.

Albus tightly held Scorpius' hand. "The Aurors will take care of it now. We did the best we could and no one was seriously hurt."

"I was so stupid for thinking we could stand a chance against them!" Scorpius cried out in frustration. Everything had happened in a blur, and he was still shaken up.

"I know we got in major trouble," James told Scorpius, "but we found out the truth, and now they're going to be locked away. This is finally over. And it's all because of you."

(

Almost an hour went by and each person had their wounds looked at. Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured – for which Scorpius was immensely thankful.

For now everyone sat in silence, waiting for the Aurors to show up, praying that they would be okay.

Luckily, their prayers were answered because Harry, Ron and Teddy soon walked in. Neither man had more than a scratch or a bruise on him.

"We arrested Adrian, Isaiah and the rest of the men. It's all over now," Harry declared.

Shouts of glee reverberated throughout the hospital wing.

Albus, James and Lily got up to hug their Dad while Rose hugged hers. Scorpius sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in a long time, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. No one else would die because of Adrian Pince. His father's death was finally avenged.

"It's been a long night. You should get some sleep. We'll talk more in the morning, including your punishment for breaking the rules," Harry said.

(

That following morning, Selwyn and Scorpius headed to breakfast together. They hadn't spoken much, still in shock from last night. When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, they found their respective mothers waiting for them.

"Mum!" Scorpius exclaimed, running over to Astoria. "How are you?"

Astoria smiled and hugged her son. "Oh, how I've missed you! I'm so glad you're alright."

"You look well," Scorpius remarked.

"Therapy has worked wonders for me," she replied. "But let's talk about you."

Scorpius frowned, sensing another lecture coming.

"What you did was very unacceptable. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you too."

"I know, Mum, but I had to."

Astoria nodded. "I understand. I'm just glad the killers have been found and we can finally move on with our lives."

Scorpius hugged his mother once more. "Me too. I have a feeling things will get much better now." He glanced in the Great Hall and saw Albus watching him. "I'll be right back," he said, releasing his arms.

Scorpius bounded toward Albus, who was walking towards him. The couple hugged and quickly kissed each other. "Thank you so much, Albus. I can't tell you enough how much you mean to me."

Albus grinned. "Are you happy?"

Scorpius smiled and nodded. "Yes. I haven't been this happy in such a long time. And it's all thanks to you."

"Really?"

Scorpius nodded again. "Albus Potter, you are the best thing to ever happen to me." He paused. "I love you."

Albus' eyes widened and he involuntarily broke into a huge smile. He had wanted to say those words for awhile now, but the timing had never seemed right with everything going on. "I love you too, Scorpius. You're also the best thing to happen to me."

Scorpius couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He didn't know where the future would lead, but he was certain about one thing. This year was the craziest, most whirlwind, best year of his life. He knew that with Albus and his new friends by his side, there was nothing that he couldn't face. Scorpius was positive that from here on out, life would be amazing. He would finally live in peace.


End file.
